Dirty tricks in the world of FIFA esports

Eurogamer:

[He] was on course to reach a Top 100 ranking when the pivotal game of the weekend disconnected during the dying moments.

...

What makes this incident notable is [he] later claimed on Twitter this was his first disconnect in three years, raising suspicion of malicious actors attempting to sabotage his run. However, what [he] would reveal later that night would send shockwaves throughout the FIFA community.

...

[He] tweeted several screenshots that showed pro players in the North American FIFA scene commenting on his run and conspiring to end it. He acquired these screenshots through a friend of his, a fellow pro player [who] was a part of a "dodging Discord", a server in which pro players conspire to avoid playing each other during the Weekend League, leading to easier games. (Imagine the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea were getting together to tinker with the Premier League fixtures list so they never had to play each other during a season.) But the FIFA pros were also "stream sniping" - that is, watching [his] Weekend League stream and searching for games at the same time in a bid to go up against him.

...

EA eventually responded on Friday, 1st November, with a statement given to Eurogamer and a longer response posted on the EA website. Not only did EA acknowledge the existence of the dodging Discord, it imposed a two-qualifier ban on one of the most successful FIFA players of all time