The World Cup is about to get started, and FIFA 23 is celebrating with a bunch of new content. That content started arriving last week, and while the FIFA servers seemingly buckled under the pressure initially, things have largely calmed down to the point where everyone’s favorite football simulator is at least back to being playable.However, there’s one significant hiccup that remains in FIFA 23’s World Cup content drop, and that’s the team crests. Specifically Iran’s team crest, which has the three letters more commonly associated with a certain Irish paramilitary group.For those unaware, every nation going to the World Cup next week has its own team crest consisting of the first three letters of the country and the primary colors on each nation’s flag. Iran’s flag is very close to the colors of Ireland, and the first three letters spell out "IRA," also known as the Irish Republican Army.
Not being Irish or English, I won’t go into the history of "The Troubles," which lasted from the 1960s to 1998 and ended with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. However, I can confidently say that nobody was happy during this period, with thousands of civilian casualties and great destruction to personal and government property. As a result, the IRA remains a bit of a touchy subject.
So it comes as some surprise that EA would allow the IRA to face England in the first match of FIFA 23’s World Cup. This was noted by several FIFA fans that found it alternatively amusing or slightly troubling, depending on their inclination.
The actual World Cup begins November 20 with Qatar taking on Ecuador. Iran and England will then face off on November 21.
And in case you missed it, Marvel and EA have concocted a strange crossover where famous football legends are given superhero makeovers for FIFA Ultimate Team mode in FIFA 23.