Galatasaray Esports Banned from TCL for 2020 Winter Season

Citing an earlier report, the team was told to pay all outstanding debts and was restricted in moving players in 2020. The company revealed that, as of Friday, the team had yet to pay all the staff and players as Riot required completely.

As a result, Riot TR declared that: “In order to maintain the professional standards of the Vodafone FreeZone Championship, Galatasaray Espor’s right to participate in the league was suspended for the 2020 Winter Season.”

Continuing to discuss the impact this would have on the team’s players and staff, as well as who would fill the vacant spot for the Winter Season, the company followed up with a statement.

“The VFŞL will be composed of 9 teams for the 2020 Winter Season. With the suspension of Galatasaray Espor’s right to participate in the league, the right to unilaterally terminate all players and coach contracts it has acquired for the 2020 season has emerged.”

The move is a big step for Riot TR. It’s the second time this year a team has been removed from one of their League of Legends franchise leagues. This comes after the now-infamous forced sale of Echo Fox several months back.

Unlike Echo Fox, however, Galatasaray is only banned from its franchise league. In their announcement, Riot TR noted that they would review if the team makes proper payments at a later date. Their ban would be considered for the acceptance back for the Summer Season.

The news of Galatasaray Esports being banned has been welcomed by fans of the league and even of the team itself. Many claimed the punishment was needed to force the beloved soccer club to fix its esports division. The decision proved divisive after Beşiktaş was not banned. However, one could be coming if they’ve still failed to pay their players.