You may have seen yesterday's news that the ESL had banned any teams with “apparent ties to the Russian government" from Pro League 15. Acting in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that specifically named two teams, Virtus.pro and Gambit. Now, the former has addressed this through a new statement.
Advising it replied to the ESL with a "full and comprehensive response", Virtus.pro is clearly unhappy, stating:
"That inquiry was a mere formality, our answer didn't mean to have any effect. ESL publicly announced that the reason for our disqualification was alleged connection to the government and companies that are now subjected to sanctions. However, there was quite different wording in private texting: even though we are not connected to the government, WE MAKE AN IMPRESSION of it being true."
Virtus.pro Address ESL Pro League Season 15 Ban
Elaborating further, Virtus.pro then advise that "we can't tolerate this kind of behaviour," claiming there's "no rational reasons to suspend us from playing in tournaments apart from prejudice and pressure from the outside." It's quite a charged statement from the team, and you can read it in full below:
Virtus.pro - alongside Gambit - were previously singled out due to the team's ownership. Owned by VK, Russian state-run insurer Sogaz - who were recently sanctioned by the European Union - holds a controlling stake in its parent company, hence why this decision was made.