Unban Me Pls | Cole Palmer Hit With Twitch Ban Over EA FC 27 Early Access Blunder

LONDON — Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer might be known for his elite vision on the pitch, but his understanding of video game review embargoes clearly needs some work.

The 24-year-old England international was handed a temporary Twitch ban earlier this week after he accidentally leaked highly anticipated gameplay footage of EA Sports FC 27 to thousands of viewers, completely bypassing the publisher's strict pre-release embargo.

Palmer went live on his Twitch channel on Tuesday afternoon, treating fans to an impromptu broadcast of the unreleased football sim. He spent over an hour casually opening Ultimate Team packs, complaining about his in-game stats, and playing matches. The only problem? He wasn't supposed to be showing off the game to the public yet.

The EA Intervention | A Copyright Strike and a Suspension

The broadcast quickly caught the attention of the developers at Electronic Arts. According to viewers, an official EA Sports representative actually popped into Palmer's Twitch chat during the stream to gently remind the Premier League star that the company's own official gameplay showcase was scheduled for later that evening.

Shortly after, the stream abruptly went dark. Palmer's Twitch channel was scrubbed of all EA Sports FC 27 content following a copyright strike, and his account was temporarily suspended by the platform.

In response to the gaffe, Palmer characteristically took to his Instagram story, writing, "I was only giving the people what they wanted. Unban me pls".

During the illicit broadcast, the midfielder also made sure to publicly air his grievances with EA over his player rating. EA Sports FC 27 has given Palmer an overall score of 85, a downgrade from the 87 rating he held in the previous edition. "I need a word with EA. They took two ratings off me," Palmer joked during the stream, pointing out that his injury-plagued previous season left him playing on "one leg for 10 months".

His Twitch account has since been quietly reinstated.

When Does EA Sports FC 27 Actually Release?

While Palmer's viewers got an unauthorized sneak peek, the rest of the world won't have to wait much longer to hit the pitch.

EA Sports FC 27 is scheduled for its massive global launch next week on Friday, September 25, 2026. The game will be available across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch (as well as the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2).

For players who pre-ordered the Ultimate Plus Edition, the official Early Access period kicks off tomorrow, Friday, September 18.

This year's iteration promises a slew of mechanical upgrades under the Frostbite engine, including a heavily overhauled Manager Career mode with dynamic overall ratings based on player form, as well as the new "FUT Gallery" in Ultimate Team.