In the middle of the play-offs of the LoL tournament, the EU Masters, which is important for the Knappen, the club has to remove an eSports player from the squad. The reason: vile insults against another player.
FC Schalke 04 has suspended a player ahead of the final phase of the EU Masters. Frenchman Ismaïl ‘Isma’ Boualem plays as a jungler for the Knappen and has been removed from the active squad for making racist comments. The ban comes at an inopportune time for the team – the group stage of the EU Masters is underway and Schalke cannot afford to make any more mistakes if they are to progress.
Streamer cuts insults
‘Isma’ was already not playing in the first round of the playoffs. Then on Monday the rumblings began, culminating in a statement from Schalke that they had released Boualem with immediate effect over an incident.
The Knappen youngster hurled racist insults at a teammate in a solo game – but the teammate streamed it and recorded it live. FC Schalke 04, which has always stood up for tolerance and against discrimination, could not let this stand. The suspension also has an effect on the team: The team lost both group matches so far and is now in a very bad position for the rest of the tournament.
For the Knappen, the competition is not entirely unimportant; after the sale of the LEC place, the EU Masters are still the most important tournament below the LEC in Europe.
Schalke publishes statement against racism
Today, the club took the excitement surrounding the suspended player as an opportunity to send a strong signal against racism and discrimination. Schalke published a long zero-tolerance statement in English via Twitter:
THE RESPONSIBILITY WE HAVE AS SCHALKE 04 GOES BEYOND THE RESPONSIBILITY WE HAVE FOR OUR TEAM AND THE ESPORTS COMMUNITY. WE ARE ALSO A FOOTBALL CLUB THAT PLAYS A BIG PART IN THE SPORTS COMMUNITY IN GERMANY AND ALSO WORLDWIDE.
AN INSULT SAID IN THE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS WORLD MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT WEIGHT THERE THAN IN THE WORLD WE OPERATE IN AS SCHALKE 04. WE KNOW THAT THE MANNERS IN LOL MIGHT BE A BIT DIFFERENT – BUT INTERNALLY WE HOLD EVERYONE TO THE SAME STANDARDS, WE ALWAYS TRY TO MAKE THAT CLEAR IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS:
WE DO NOT STAND FOR HATE AND TOXIC BEHAVIOUR. EVERYONE AT SCHALKE – PLAYERS, MANAGERS, STAFF, EMPLOYEES, BOARD MEMBERS – IS CALLED UPON TO INTERNALISE THIS. WE HAVE ALSO SET THIS DOWN IN A MISSION STATEMENT.
FOR COUNTLESS YEARS, FC SCHALKE 04 HAS BEEN WORKING AGAINST RACISM, ANTI-SEMITISM AND DISCRIMINATION – WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY, MADE MISTAKES, LEARNT AND CONTINUED TO LEARN. SOMETIMES PEOPLE SEEM TO FORGET THAT THE THINGS WE SAY ONLINE HAVE A VERY REAL IMPACT ON PEOPLE. THIS IS REAL LIFE AND THE THINGS WE SAY MATTER. PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND.
The Knappen played their third group match on Wednesday evening and won.