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Another KHL team is called on to remove itself from the league

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TJ Tucker
February 23, 2022  (6:39 PM)
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Amid rising tensions between Russian and Ukraine, and what appears to be imminent war, another team is being called on to remove itself from the KHL.

Latvia's Education and Science Minister Anita Muižniece wants Dinamo Riga to withdraw from the KHL, citing the conflict between Russian and Ukraine.

"I hope that we will finally stop talking about sport (yes, also music) that is 'supposedly' unrelated to politics," said Muižniece. "Yes, I would like to single out Dinamo Riga and the fact that this 'story' about participation in the Russian Open Championship must stop altogether."

Latvia was once part of what was the Soviet Union, but gained independence in the early 1990s when the Union fell collapsed. That was the same time that Ukraine gained its independence from the USSR.

Earlier this week, the official fan association of Jokerit Helsinki called on that team to withdraw from the KHL. The biggest issue there is Jokerit is 40 percent owned by a Russian mining company, while former NHLer Jari Kurri owns the rest. That is not the case with Dinamo Riga, which is owned by a Latvian investment firm. Jokerit released a statement saying it was unable to break its commitments to the KHL. So far, there's been no response from Dinamo.

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