How could this happen?

I just played an Cure Normal and we finished with optional and after collecting my rewards i chose the leave map option in the ui where the time is running, but after that i wanted to go another but system says i got the 1 hour leaver penalty.

Why?

I got this too - result is can't play CS normal or elite for an hour, which is annoying as (same as you) I didn't do anything to prompt the leaver penalty.

because cure is buggy, wait for 'leave now' pop up. also stops others from warping into a cure you've finished because until that pop up appears game thinks the stf is still incomplete. leave before the pop up and it will grab the next person in the queu and send them in. if they leave before the pop up> leaver penalty. even if they leave after the pop up they'll still get a cd on cure that they never did.

just hang around and wait for the pop up. until they fix it, seems to be the only way to assure no leaver penalties.

As i wrote, i used the leave map button.

then a new twist on an old bug...just great :| and my post was more aimed at people who don't know the bug exists...i've got sucked into already completed cures because people left before the pop up. more often than not the pop up behaves normally. yours might be one rare case. but still, the best option is to wait for that pop up...and maybe wait a few seconds more to press it. i always wait a few secs after the pop up. just don't trust cure anymore.

don't know why...but server seems mentally damaged when it comes to cure.

you said in ui where time is running, there's a central pop up ~>top center, did you mean that one?
did other team members warp out before the pop up?
if so, did other people get sent in?
was the pop up delayed?

ya...these are the questions the devs should be asking...but the more info you could give might save other players the same hassle.

This seems to occur when the Cure is finished fairly quickly. Sit around for a while, and the leave button will pop. Also, file tickets while you are waiting.