Tanizhq suspended as head coach of Vitality for two weeks

French esports organization Vitality has issued an official statement confirming the removal of Tanizhq from the position of head coach of the VALORANT roster for a period of two weeks. It is reported that the 24-year-old British specialist will return to work on June 21, since the time spent on the proceedings is taken into account when applying sanctions.

Following the investigation by Riot Games and Freaks4U, and the decision to issue a warning to our VALORANT coach, and after careful consideration and agreement by the parties, we confirm Tanizhq's suspension from duty for two weeks until June 21 as a sanction for his inappropriate behavior. This sanction is our decision as it is a consequence of our zero tolerance policy when it comes to toxic behavior.

In addition, Tanizhq's salary for this period will be transferred to the relevant online anti-harassment authorities. Finally, Tanizhq will leave Twitter for a while.

Vitality would like to thank Riot Games and Freaks4U, as well as the management of Karmine Corp, for the transparency of the investigation. We would also like to thank Gorilla and our VALORANT team for showing character and responsibility during this challenging time, and of course thank our fans for their support.

The Tanizhq scandal erupted a week and a half ago on Twitter, when a 24-year-old British specialist called the ZE1SH a "cockroach" and sent the middle finger. Immediately after that, the Team Vitality coach deleted the messages and closed the account, but the conversation still became a subject of publicity.

What I tweeted last Thursday was totally unacceptable and I won't try to make excuses. I would like to formally apologize to ZE1SH and take full responsibility for what happened.

I would also like to apologize to Vitality and the fans for compromising the brand and adding toxicity to the community. I am grateful that I was given a second chance, and I hope to restore the trust that I managed to lose.

For now, I will stay away from social media and keep my activity to a minimum to give myself time for mental improvement.

According to the statement, there were personal factors that put stress on the specialist, who came to a head during a Twitter spat, as well as additional pressure on his team due to a busy schedule. Tanizhq stated that he is already working with the club's mental coach to avoid similar problems in the future.

Recall that Tanizhq headed Team Vitality in early April. In two months, the 24-year-old British specialist helped the team reach the playoffs of VALORANT Regional Leagues 2022 France: Revolution Stage 2.

Team Vitality's current VALORANT roster is as follows:

• ceNder.
• BONECOLD.
• baddyG.
• H1ber.
• nataNk.
• YoZeii (bench)
• Gorilla (head coach).