Some people don’t want to be a black player on FIFA 17

FIFA 17 has a new game mode, but some players have a problem with it.

FIFA 17’s new campaign mode is called “The Journey,” where players control a character named Alex Hunter and work their way to stardom in the Premier League. The campaign is incredibly complete. It even allows players to give post-game press conferences and interact with other superstars. The only problem, according to some people, is that Alex Hunter is black.

Unlike other game modes, “The Journey” restricts players from customizing the character’s skin color. This has caused outrage in the comments sections of many articles reviewing “The Journey,” as some feel they cannot identify with a black protagonist.

The timing of this sentiment is ironic, as just last week FIFA disbanded its anti-racism task force. They wrote that it had “completely fulfilled its temporary mission” and “is hereby dissolved and no longer in operation.” The move has been widely criticized, and rightly so, as racism continues to be a major issue for soccer.

Piara Powar, executive director of the Fare Network, spoke out against FIFA in an interview with VICE Sports. “The issue for me isn’t whether the task force exists,” said Powar, “[That’s] neither here nor there. [FIFA] has to correct the misapprehension that they don’t care about these issues.”

It’s a bad time for FIFA to pretend that racism is over. The 2017 Confederations Cup is coming up in Russia, where soccer officials are famous for turning a blind eye to it. A year later, Russia also hosts the World Cup. This means that there is a lot of upcoming soccer taking place in a hostile environment. With this in mind, FIFA’s anti-racism task force should be doubling its efforts, not dissolving.

EA Sports is sending the right message through the creation of Alex Hunter and “The Journey,” but if FIFA continues to pretend that racism is over, angry gamers will be the least of our worries.