Chelsea’s star-studded side have been brutally snubbed by EA Sports and no player has been named for the Premier League Team of the Season.

It may not have been the season Chelsea were hoping for, but they are still rightly in third place and have played in both domestic cup finals. However, due to penalties imposed on owner Roman Abramovich, EA Sports has ignored all of Chelsea’s stars as they prepare to name the Premier League Team of the Season.

In fact, since the sanctions, they haven’t released any special in-game material that includes Chelsea players. But the snub means the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz will all miss out on the possibility of a TOTS card.

EA’s Premier League Team of the Season event lets fans vote for their Ultimate XI from 40 nominees, and the most popular picks will be rewarded with special cards in FIFA’s Ultimate Team game mode. But no Chelsea players are eligible due to the current sanctions, as EA has been consistent with a zero-tolerance stance on Russia invading Ukraine.

They quickly removed the Russian national team from the game shortly after Vladimir Putin announced Russia was invading, and they also banned Russian players from being available through packs in Ultimate Team. And Chelsea players haven’t received any new cards since Abramovich‘s sanctions.

However, Conor Gallagher has been rewarded with a nomination for his work at Crystal Palace this season, despite being on loan from Chelsea. But due to Abramovich’s alleged links to the Russian president, the players currently at Chelsea have missed out.

Following EA’s instant removal of Russian players and teams from FIFA, they said in a statement: “In line with our partners at FIFA and UEFA, EA Sports has initiated processes to remove the national team. Russian and all Russian clubs of EA Sports FIFA products.

“These include: FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile and FIFA Online. We are also actively evaluating changes related to other areas of our games. We will keep our communities informed of any actions taken and thank players for their patience while we work.” thanks to these updates.”

The Premier League Team of the Season is due to be published on May 7, with voting closing on May 6 before the final team is decided. But Chelsea’s snub means other players can sneak in which otherwise would have been missed.