Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer has been banned from the streaming platform Twitch after showcasing gameplay from EAFC 27 before its official release date. The annual video game, formerly known as FIFA, is scheduled for worldwide release on September 25, but Palmer obtained an early copy and streamed it to thousands of viewers on Tuesday.
Stream cut short after EA intervention
Palmer was live on the platform for over an hour, opening Ultimate Team packs and playing a match. EA had planned to give fans their first glimpse of the gameplay on Tuesday evening, but Palmer's early stream got him into trouble. At one point, the official EAFC account joined his stream and commented: "Err, Cole, weren’t we going to do this a bit later? We’ll be live at 6pm UK!"
Shortly afterwards, Palmer's account was banned, and his gaming content was removed from his channel, although clips from the stream have circulated online.
Palmer pleads for reinstatement
Palmer responded on Instagram, appealing to EA and Twitch to restore his account. He wrote: "I was only giving the people what they wanted… unban me pls."
During the stream, Palmer also saw his own Ultimate Team card for the first time and expressed frustration with his rating of 85. He told viewers: "I need a word with EA. They took two ratings off me. I had one leg for ten months last season, what do you want me to do?"
Comparison with teammate and next match
Palmer compared his card to that of Chelsea team-mate Morgan Rogers, who is rated one point lower but has slightly better pace. Palmer said: "76 pace? I don’t know how he’s got more pace than me but, EA sometimes, man, they’re a bit crazy."
He will aim to put the disappointment behind him ahead of Chelsea's next match, an away game against Brentford on Friday night.
