Input freezes for 5-20 seconds randomly

Hi, I'm experiencing a persistent bug in EA SPORTS FC 24 on PC where controller input freezes completely for around 5 to 20 seconds every few minutes. The last input before the freeze is held (e.g. my player keeps running in one direction). It happens in both online and offline modes, in menus and in-game. This is not a hardware issue — I've reproduced it with many different controllers, and neither has issues in any other game. Troubleshooting I've already tried:
- Disabling the EA App overlay (though it still appears despite being turned off in settings)
- Closing Steam before launching - Fullscreen and borderless windowed modes
- Checking Device Manager for ghost controller devices
- Unplugging non-essential USB devices
- Disabling EA Anti-Cheat None of these resolved the issue.

It's been happening since I purchased the game in 2023, and it makes the game really frustrating to play. I found many similar threads here & on other forums with the same issue but no solution. Contacting EA support, the agent said they can't help me and referred me to this forum...