FIFA 19 players shamefully profit off of Emiliano Sala disappearance

A story has sent shockwaves through the football world in the past week, as Cardiff City’s record signing (15million) Emiliano Sala’s plane wenthas gone missing on its trip from Nantes to Cardiff. Players of FIFA 19 have used his disappearance as a way to gain virtual profit.

While the football world mourns this tragedy, football across the world continues. Fans will go to matches this weekend, and Cardiff City will continue to battle to stay up in the Premier League after their promotion from the Championship last season.

Tragedies like these are times where the footballing world comes together in support of each other. Situations like this one, show the tight-knit community that football has across the globe and supports why being a football fan means being part of a family. Emiliano Sala‘s disappearance has brought the community together again.

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The thing that shocks me is the lack of punctuality that EA Sports, creators of the FIFA video game, take in times like this one. The players of this game as well, are at fault in this specific situation.

If you have no clue what I am talking about, let me explain. In FIFA 19, the most popular football video game in the world, there is a mode titled “FIFA Ultimate Team”. Players are able to build their clubs, selecting players from the entire FIFA database to take on other players and their best XI’s. Each player is represented by a card. This card is similar to a trading card, you receive the players through opening packs and also by them on the continuously circulating, FUT Transfer Market.

Every player’s card is different from the other. The better the player, the more coins (the currency used in the game, earned from sales and daily challenges) the player will sell for. For instance, the 94 OVR Cristiano Ronaldo card, currently is being bought at 2.1million coins (per futbin.com). While the 86 OVR Sadio Mane is selling for 32.7thousand coins currently.

So, cards that are better hold more value. Emiliano Sala, who everyone is praying for, has a 77 OVR card in the FIFA Ultimate Team mode. He has a pace of 57 (all attributes out of 99), a shooting rating of 77, with his highest rating being 84 for physicality.

The Emiliano Sala situation is a complete tragedy. But, FIFA and EA Sports made a simple mistake this past week. Sala’s card was left in the database, able to be traded across the FUT Market and sold to other players. Before the announcement of the disappearance of Sala’s flight from Nantes to Cardiff, the card would go for 400-500 coins on the market. That, being a reasonable price for a card that is 77 OVR.

On January 22nd, when the news went global of his disappearance 4.1 to 4.7 thousand coins on both PlayStation and XBOX consoles. One sale was recorded at 6.1 thousand coins on the 23rd of January on the Playstation. Today, Sala cards cannot be purchased on the market. It took two days for EA Sports to make this choice. Which, I cannot agree with.

EA Sports responded to a situation with Ray Rice in Madden 2015 (Former Baltimore Ravens RB in the NFL), who had been suspended from the league after a video of him assaulting his wife surfaced. Ray Rice was taken out of that current game which at the time was Madden 15 and he could no longer be used in all modes of the game.

EA Sports continues to rule the land of sporting video games. When situations like this arise, choices need to be made fast so players cannot take advantage of a dire situation like one as this, to make some extra coins.

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The situation is a very sensitive topic, and I send my thoughts and prayers to all members of Emiliano Sala’s family as well as his former teammates, friends and his new club in Cardiff.

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