Fantasy Premier League deletes all Russian users from game in response to Ukraine invasion

Teams of all Russian users deleted as part of show of support for Ukraine

Fantasy Premier League has returned for the 2021-22 season (Fantasy Premier League)

The Premier League has removed Russian users from their popular Fantasy Premier League game en masse as part of their response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Several Russian users on social media reported that their teams had been deleted on Friday. The mini-league which includes all users based in Russia has also been removed from the game.

The Premier League have confirmed that the decision was taken in line with the league's wider show of solidarity with Ukraine. Approximately 12,000 user accounts are believed to be affected by the decision.

The removal of Russian users follows the suspension earlier this week of the £6m-per-year broadcast deal with partner Rambler (Okko Sport).

All 20 top-flight clubs unanimously agreed to suspend the Rambler deal after a participating in a league-wide show of support for Ukraine last weekend.

The league will also make a £1m donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee to help deliver humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict.

“The league strongly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We call for peace and our thoughts are with all those impacted,” a statement said.

The Fantasy Premier League game has been a key component of league’s global expansion in recent years, passing nine million registered users worldwide last month.