Italian Pokémon TCG player says he was permanently banned
Alessandro "iCaterpie" Cremascoli says he was barred from Play! Pokémon events after criticizing a judge. No disciplinary notice or company comment has been cited.
Italian Pokémon TCG player Alessandro "iCaterpie" Cremascoli says he has been permanently banned after publicly complaining that a judge treated him unfairly. The claim is reported only on his own account: no disciplinary notice has been shown, and The Pokémon Company had not publicly commented as of the reports.
What Cremascoli says happened
On October 16, 2026, Cremascoli posted about the reported ban on X. According to him, another incident at the most recent World Championships pushed him to speak out publicly. The incident took place at the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco. Six hours after posting, he removed it, and he blames the permanent ban on that complaint.
He says the company failed to notify him of the ban. A second account says that a notice told him he could no longer attend Play! Pokémon events, arriving just as he was preparing to travel to the Nice Regional Championships in France, held on October 17 and 18 (2026).
He further claims that, for the last ten years, certain staff at The Pokémon Company International have singled him out. In his words: "I'm devastated. Pokemon is literally my life. I can't stop crying."
Who he is
Cremascoli has won the national title twice. By his own telling, he has given 25 years of his life to the game, teaching players throughout Italy and helping build the community. Per Limitless, he placed ninth at the September Frankfurt Regional Championships.
What is unverified
Content creator JenTCG noted that Cremascoli's earlier complaint on Twitter singled out a particular judge and accused them of treating him unfairly. JenTCG proposed that this looked like the cause of the ban, while admitting that further context might be missing. Because Cremascoli's announcement came without any disciplinary notice, the connection between his complaint and the ban depends entirely on his own account.
Players are divided. Some urged the company to withdraw the permanent ban or cut it down to a temporary one, while others argued he should have kept his grievances off social media.
What is still unknown
The Pokémon Company had not publicly commented as of the reports, and the ban's official reason and scope are not announced. Whether the ban will be retracted or reduced is also unknown.
What it means for players
- Treat the ban as an unconfirmed claim until The Pokémon Company or Play! Pokémon comments.
- Check official channels before drawing conclusions about the scope of any suspension.
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