Disheartening news for the FIFA fans, there are possibilities of removal of Diego Maradona from FIFA 22 Ultimate Team after the ruling passed by an Argentine court. The Argentinian football icon sadly passed away at the age of 60 years in November 2020. This football legend features EA Sports’ FIFA gaming franchise within the FIFA 22 Ultimate Team game mode as a famous FUT Icon.
Maradona was the first one who was included on the FIFA Ultimate Team game mode on EA Sports' FIFA 18. He is not alone who is featured as a FUT Icon but others like Ronaldo, Nazário, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, and Lev Yashin are also featured. FIFA 18, EA Sports introduced the feature of FUT Icons which replaced FUT Legends.
The former FC Barcelona and Napoli forward has three unique FUT Icon player items on FIFA 22 Ultimate Team which are: -
- A 91-rated base FUT Icon,
- A 95-rated mid-FUT Icon and
- A 97-rated prime FUT Icon.
All three of these items are incredibly rare and are highly coveted by FUT players all around the world. These items are amongst the best items in the game. But an Argentine court has recently passed a ruling due to which Maradona could apparently be removed from FIFA 22 Ultimate Team very soon. This ruling was given in a trademark dispute where a judge recognized a trademark right claim on the word Maradona by Sattvica. This company belongs to a lawyer named Matías Morla.
The EA had apparently made a deal with Maradona's former manager named Stéfano Ceci who reportedly signed all the documents but late he could not prove he had legal powers to sign such documents. This became the reason for the removal of Maradona from the game entirely. The EA also made a public announcement on October 7, 2021, regarding their reviewal of their naming rights agreement with FIFA. This also indicates a name change for their EA Sports FIFA gaming franchise.
"As we look ahead, we’re also exploring the idea of renaming our global EA SPORTS football games. This means we’re reviewing our naming rights agreement with FIFA, which is separate from all our other official partnerships and licenses across the football world. The future of football is very big and very bright. Our priority is to ensure we have every opportunity to continue delivering the world’s greatest interactive football experiences," said the EA Statement.
"FIFA will adopt a new commercial positioning in gaming and eSports to ensure that it is best placed to make decisions that benefit all football stakeholders. FIFA is bullish and excited about the future in gaming and eSports for football, and it is clear that this needs to be a space that is occupied by more than one party controlling all rights," said FIFA in a statement on their website.
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