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Russian media “Sport-Express” journalist Alexei Shevchenko believes that the management of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) should consider excluding Riga “Dinamo” and Helsinki “Jokerit” from the tournament.
It has already been reported that on Friday, September 11, there was no scheduled game between “Dinamo” and “Neftekhimik” in Nizhny Novgorod, as some guest hockey players were diagnosed with Covid-19. The Russian club players went home, while KHL was commanded by a special commission in Nizhny Novgorod, whose representatives found that there was nothing to prevent Neftekhimik from participating in today’s match against the St. Petersburg SKA.
Before Riga’s Neftekhimik also visited Helsinki (0: 6), and after announcing information about several positive Covid-19 tests, the Finnish authorities imposed a two-week self-isolation on Jokerit hockey players, which led to the postponement of a total of five games with the Helsinki team.
It was clear that everything was fine with the Neftekhimik boys, because they played the game peacefully in Finland and were ready to play in Riga. They were not allowed in because the locals found some problems. At present, KHL can be disturbed not even by the coronavirus, but by the strange tests used in Europe. There is no guarantee that Torpedo will be able to enter Riga on September 22, and Moscow Dynamo four days later. It is also frightening how quickly the Finnish authorities sent the Jokerit hockey players to quarantine, even though they are healthy and did not ask to do so.
If something similar happens again, then closer to October KHL should decide on a strict option – to exclude Finns and Latvians from the championship. But what to do? Threaten the calendar? Turn everything into a circus? Transferred games put clubs on an unequal footing. Five Jokerit games have been canceled. Where to put them, because the opponents have their own plans? Exclusion is not a good option, but the league must make a choice, ”the journalist writes.
The people of Riga have gone on the first trip of the season. Tomorrow, September 14, the team will have a match against Novosibirsk “Sibir”, 16th – against Khabarovsk “Amur”, and 18th – against Nursultan “Barys”.
Expert: “Jokerit” causes a lot of problems. I do not know how long KHL intends to suffer
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