Il Russian Esports team Virtus.pro he was forced to accept some compromise after the decision of disqualify him from ESL competitions.
This suspension was announced earlier this week, and is part of a very long list of deprivations that the whole world is subjecting Russia to following theunjustified invasion of Ukraine, which started two weeks ago.
Virtus.pro accused ESL of having been a "perfect example of cancel culture" with its decision, but there was no turning back, so the Russian Esport team had to accept the compromises that would allow it, however. , a space for maneuver.
ESL will not prevent Russia players from competing with a neutral name. This is a similar decision to the approach taken by the International Olympic Committee when it was discovered in 2015 that the country was running a state-sponsored anti-doping program for athletes.
Addressing ESL Pro League statement on https://t.co/RghpmPyTHr. pic.twitter.com/sfNliB4rGU
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) March 4, 2022
ESL is one of the largest Esports organizers in the world, and announced on March 2 that it "will not allow organizations with apparent links to the Russian government, including individuals or organizations under alleged or confirmed European Union sanctions relating to conflict in Ukraine to compete at its events ”.
Initially there were two Russian Esports teams subject to sanctions: the aforementioned Virtus.pro e Gambit. The former has now released one declaration in response to ESL's decision, and is not satisfied.
There are no rational reasons to suspend us from participating in tournaments, apart from prejudices and pressures from outside. It happened during a WePlay event in Dubai and it keeps happening.
The Dubai event in question is the Gamers Galaxy: Dota 2 Invitational Series Dubai, who would ask Virtus.pro to play without tags, jersey and affiliation to a particular club or country. In a March 1 statement, the Russian Esports team released a statement stating that it refuses to take part in the competition under these rules.
Among the many sanctions that are involving Russia, one of the most recent is the one implemented by Nintendo, which has decided to block its eShop in the country, suspending all transactions.
Before the Japanese giant, too Microsoft he had cut off Russia, from Windows to Xbox. There are dozens of large companies worldwide that, this week, have launched in protest against the country that has started an unjustified war.
