Electronic Arts Inc. will remove Russian teams from several of its video game sports franchises in response to the country’s actions in Ukraine.
The game publisher said it will expunge all of Russia’s teams from its NHL 22 hockey game and three of its FIFA football games. EA’s actions follow the banning of actual Russian sports teams from international competitions, product boycotts by U.S. companies from Apple Inc., Nike Inc. and others, and the removal of Russian news and entertainment from social media platforms.
“EA Sports stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and like so many voices across the world of football, calls for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine,” the Redwood City, California-based company tweeted.
FIFA, football’s international governing body, announced Monday that it was suspending Russian teams from all competitions including the World Cup indefinitely. The National Hockey League also said Monday that it had halted its relationship with Russian business partners and paused their Russian language sites. The NHL will also no longer host competitions in Russia.
