Pokémon TCG veteran iCaterpie allegedly banned for life after accusing a judge of unfair treatment

Alessandro “iCaterpie” Cremascoli, a longtime competitive Pokémon TCG player, said on Oct. 16 that he had received a permanent ban. Cremascoli said he had been preparing to travel to a tournament in Nice and had not been notified directly about the reported sanction.

In the same post, Cremascoli linked the reported ban to a complaint he made after the latest World Championships. He said he deleted that post six hours later. His account does not include a disciplinary notice, and the precise scope and official reason for the reported ban have not been independently confirmed.

Dexerto reports that Cremascoli is a two-time Italian national champion who has competed for decades. The outlet also notes that his public statement did not include documentation explaining the reported ban.

Card game creator JenTCG said the deleted complaint named a specific judge and accused that person of unfair treatment. JenTCG presented the complaint as a possible explanation for the sanction, while acknowledging that additional context could be missing.

Cremascoli described the news as devastating. “I dedicated 25 years of my life to this game,” he wrote, adding that he had spent that time teaching players and building the community in Italy. Neither The Pokémon Company International nor a tournament organizer had publicly confirmed the reported ban in the evidence available for this report.