Xbox Controller unilaterally disabled at online kickoff

Hello,

I am reporting a critical Kernel-level incompatibility bug with EA Anticheat in EA Sports FC 26 for PC, which completely breaks online gameplay.

My Xbox controller works flawlessly across all game menus and in every offline mode (such as Kick-off and Manager Career). However, the exact millisecond an online match kicks off (e.g., Seasons / Rivals), a unilateral input block occurs.

The exact behavior of the bug: The online match starts, the connection to the server remains perfect with zero lag, and I can see my opponent running, passing, and playing normally on my screen. However, my controller is completely disabled by the game. I watch the match unfold in real-time, but the game ignores 100% of my inputs (I cannot run, pass, shoot, or switch players).

To completely isolate the issue and eliminate any doubt regarding third-party software conflicts, I have performed a CLEAN INSTALLATION (FROM SCRATCH) of Windows 11 on my machine.

My system state during the test:

Windows 11 was formatted from scratch and is strictly clean.

The ONLY software installed on the SSD is EA Sports FC 26 (via EA App/Steam).

There is absolutely nothing else installed on the PC (no third-party antivirus, no active NVIDIA overlays, no virtual/remote display apps, no controller remappers like HidHide or DS4Windows).

The Xbox controller firmware is fully updated via the Xbox Accessories app.

The bug occurs identically whether connected via USB cable (plugged directly into the native ports) or via Bluetooth.

Since the issue persists identically on a freshly formatted, completely bare operating system, it is evident that EA Anticheat is triggering a hardware false-positive. It misinterprets my machine's native controller hardware or motherboard input bus as a threat upon server validation and cuts my inputs specifically (Input Block) while keeping the opponent active.

System Specifications:

CPU: 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-13700H
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU + Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics
RAM: 64 GB
OS: Windows 11 (Clean Install, fully updated via Windows Update).

As an advanced user, I have exhausted every humanly possible troubleshooting step on the operating system side. I need this case escalated urgently to the EA Anticheat engineering and development team for a patch fix.

Looking forward to an official response.