EA Sports has removed Manchester City’s full-back Benjamin Mendy from FIFA 22 while he awaits trial. The 27-year-old French defender is accused of four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault that allegedly took place at his home in Cheshire, England between October 2020 and August 2021.
The decision to remove Mendy from Manchester City’s roster in FIFA 22 comes one month after the English club suspended him following the police charges. Mendy also won’t be featured in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team packs while he’s awaiting trial, but players can still acquire him on the FUT market.
“As Benjamin Mendy has been removed from the active rosters of both Manchester City and the French National team, in FIFA 22 he has also been removed from respective rosters and suspended from appearing in FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) packs and Ultimate Draft while he is awaiting trial,” EA confirmed to Eurogamer.
The Manchester City full-back will appear in court on Nov. 15 and his trial date has been set for Jan. 24, 2022. He wasn’t granted bail in August and is on remand at the HMP Altcourse jail in Liverpool, England.
Although this is an uncommon situation, it isn’t the first time that EA has removed a player from FIFA. The publisher removed the now ex-soccer player Adam Johnson from the game in 2016 after he was found guilty of grooming and sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. Legendary Dutch player Marco van Basten was also pulled from FIFA 20 for saying a Nazi phrase during an interview.
Published: Sep 28, 2021 09:10 am