EA Sports has completely removed all of Argentine legend Maradona’s ICON items from FIFA 22 due to a legal dispute.
Diego Maradona is right up there with Pele, Zidane, and Ronaldo, and as such has some of the best ICON cards in FIFA 22. He remains one of the most sought-after players in the entire game, striking fear into anyone who comes up against him.
Unfortunately, FUT fans will no longer be able to add The Golden Boy to their squads, as EA has removed every Maradona item from the game as of March 19.
EA removes Maradona from FIFA 22
The news first broke by FutSheriff on Twitter, and EA have now confirmed they have suspended Maradona’s items from FIFA 22 due to a “third party legal dispute,” presumably with the late footballer’s estate.
🚨EXCLUSIVE
Diego Maradona will be SUSPENDED from Fifa 22 due to a third party legal dispute. His cards won’t be available in Packs, SBCs or Drafts anymore.
— Fut Sheriff (@FutSheriff) March 19, 2022
Via an in-game message in FIFA 22, EA said: “Due to a third party legal dispute, we must suspend Diego Maradona from appearing in FIFA Ultimate Team Packs, future FUT content and the Soccer Aid World XI in EA SPORTS FIFA 22.”
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“As such, Diego Maradona ICON Items will no longer be made available in Packs, SBCs and FUT Draft,” the statement continued. “We share our fans’ disappointment and hope to bring one of football’s greatest icons back in the game at some point in the future.”
Players who already own one of Maradona’s ICON cards will still be able to deploy him in matches, and he will still be available on the FUT market. However, his price has been fixed to prevent traders from profiting from the situation.
It’s not known whether this will be permanent or temporary, but it’s a very good bet the items will be unavailable while the legal dispute is ongoing.
Will Maradona be in FIFA 23?
At this point, it’s impossible to say whether or not Maradona will be included in FIFA 23’s ICON list. If the legal dispute is resolved before the game comes out, it could happen. But if things drag on, he could be absent from the next title in the series.
We have several months before FIFA 23 becomes the main focus for the community, so we’ll know soon if EA is able to resolve this dispute before then and include El Pelusa for players next time around.