Switzerland’s largest esports competition, Take the Throne, was canceled after an anti-abortion comment by the host team’s founder, Patrice Bailo de Spoelberch, caused an uproar.
His now-deleted post on X stated: “A woman who dares to use abortion should lose the right to ever have children.”
The comment prompted immediate backlash, with three major teams—Gentle Mates, Karmine Corp., and Team Vitality—issuing a joint statement condemning the remark as “disrespectful and controversial.” They announced their withdrawal from the event, stating they “can in no way accept associating our clubs and our values with such speech.”
BDS, the team founded by Bailo de Spoelberch and the host of the event, distanced itself from his statement, emphasizing it did not represent the organization’s values. In a follow-up apology, Bailo de Spoelberch described his original comment as “extremely clumsy” and clarified:
“Every woman must have control over her body and is free to terminate a pregnancy. Again, sorry to all the women and people I offended.”
Despite the apology, the damage was done. BDS announced the event’s cancellation, citing the controversy and stating that “internal measures will be taken promptly.” The tournament, featuring a popular car-soccer video game, was slated to occur on November 23 at Geneva’s Bâtiment des Forces Motrices.
