Dinamo Riga leaves the KHL

It takes just a couple of days after the call of Latvian Minister of Education and Science Anita Muizhniece to Dinamo Riga leaving the KHL and the club announced yesterday its withdrawal from the KHL, despite on February 26, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the KHL and Dinamo Riga Juris Savickis stated that the team did not consider exiting the league, since the current season for the club ended before the playoffs.

The same Juris Savickis announced the withdrawal: "We all the time hoped that there would be negotiations and the conflict would end quickly on compromise solutions. But now there is a war, people are dying, and at this time it is wrong to play sports, so we made such a decision." Mr Savickis, however, left a door opened about a possible comeback of Dinamo in the KHL in the future: "No decisions are ever made forever. If the situation stabilizes, negotiations begin, everything returns to normal, then I hope that not only we, but all sports organizations will return to reconsider their decisions."

The press service of the KHL commented on the decision of the Dinamo to leave the league stressing that:  "Dinamo Riga" has been playing in the Kontinental Hockey League since its foundation in 2008. This is an interesting and original team that gave the fans a lot of bright moments.At the moment, Dinamo Riga has already completed participation in the 2021/2022 season.In the near future if the club does not apply for participation in the next season, it will not be included in the number of participants in the League."

Three-time world champion Alexei Tereshchenko commented to portal championat.com: "It's very sad when teams leave the league for political reasons. It shouldn't be like this. It's all sad and very pitiful. Dinamo Riga is a club with history. Great coaches have always worked there. Riga is an amazing city, there are great fans" - said Tereshchenko.

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