Electronic Arts has officially pulled a player from FIFA 22 due to several charges against them. The suspended Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been removed from the game as he awaits trial.
EA removed Benjamin Mendy from both the Manchester City and the French national team squads in FIFA 22. The defenders' card has also been suspended from appearing in FIFA Ultimate Team packs and Ultimate Draft as he awaits trial. Some players who managed to get their hands on this player card will seemingly be able to add Mendy to their roster, but several FIFA 22 fans are also trying to trade him through the transfer market.
FIFA 22 officially releases in October, but a 10-hour trial launched on September 22 for EA Play subscribers. Because of this, FIFA 22 players were able to acquire Benjamin Mendy's Ultimate Team card prior to his removal from the soccer game. All progress made during this trial will carry over to the full release of FIFA 22 so players who received his card may not have access to the player until his trial is over.
Benjamin Mendy appeared in Manchester magistrate court earlier this month where he stands accused of four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. Mendy will appear in court again on November 15 according to Eurogamer and his lawyer is expected to apply to dismiss the charges. Beyond that, a trial date has already been set for January 24.
According to the accusations, Benjamin Mendy allegedly attacked three women, including one below the age of 18, at his home in Cheshire between October 2020 and August 2021. The soccer player is also accused of sexually assaulting a woman in early January 2021. The Manchester City football club had already suspended the defender prior to his removal from FIFA 22 due to the charges placed against him. A second man has also been connected to the police investigation into Mendy, but he was released on bail.
Benjamin Mendy had an application for bail denied by Judge Steven Everett at Manchester crown court. The hearing for this application was held behind closed doors and lasted nearly an hour, with Mendy not attending himself. Until the upcoming trial, Mendy is in custody at HMP Altcourse in Merseyside.
Considering the fact that Benjamin Mendy has yet to be found guilty, he may return to FIFA 22. Depending on the results of the trial, however, he may never return to the FIFA franchise. The transfer market is packed with Mendy cards, suggesting that a large chunk of early access FIFA 22 players received him in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team packs ahead of launch.
FIFA 22 releases on October 1 for Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Eurogamer