EA stops selling Russia items in FIFA Ultimate Team
But players keep already-owned items.
EA has stopped selling Russia items in FIFA Ultimate Team.
An in-game message displayed upon logging into Ultimate Team signals notice that a number of FUT items will no longer be sold in packs.
The list includes players from Russian clubs, kits from Russian clubs, stadium items from Russian clubs and the national team, and managers from the Russian Premier League.
However, these items will not be taken from players who already own them. Indeed, players are actively trading these items on the Ultimate Team auction house.
On that point, EA's in-game message said these items now have their auction house price ranges fixed, which should prevent players exploiting real-world events in order to make a FUT Coins profit.
This also means players can continue to adorn their customisable FUT stadium with already-owned Russia-related items, such as crowd banners and team badges.
Players are also reporting they're still able to pack Russian players who play abroad.
Elsewhere, the Russian national team is still available to play in standard modes across FIFA 22, including Kick-Off.
In its message, EA said these changes were made "in line with real world actions taken by our partners at FIFA and UEFA". Last month, FIFA and UEFA banned all Russian teams from their competitions following Putin's devastating invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, EA announced plans to cease all sales of its games and content, including virtual currency bundles, in Russia and its ally Belarus while Russia's invasion of the Ukraine continues.
The itch.io Bundle for Ukraine is now live, with almost 1000 games included. All proceeds will be split between two charities: International Medical Corps and Voices of Children.