According to a post on Twitter by player agent Jérôme Copuez, Chinese organization FunPlusPhoenix refused to pay the salary "of a player in Ukraine because he is not playing as per his contract".
Jaxon was able to confirm that the player is Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow, FPX's in-game leader.
Following intervention from Coupez, FPX decided to continue paying the salary and apologized to both ANGE1 and his representatives.
Update; the situation has been resolved & FPX will pay the full salary of the player for as long as needed, without asking him to play.
— Jérôme Coupez #PlayersFirst 💯 (@Jerome_Coupez) March 11, 2022
The CEO of FPX did apologize in person to us.
It means a lot, thanks to FPX & everyone for the support.
Safety is the only thing that matters. https://t.co/eefDXrGLOk
How the Ukrainian war has affected esports
Since the conflict escalated, esports has been heavily influenced by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Russian organizations have been barred from competing following international sanctions, Ukrainian players have been playing while their hometowns came under attack, and competitions in the CIS region have ground to a halt.
While ANGE1's situation with FPX got resolved, the player is currently still in Ukraine and exposed to the gravitas of war.
