KHL never received any complaint linked to Panarin abuse allegation

The KHL says it was never apprised of any matter pertaining to Andrei Nazarov's recent abuse allegation regarding Artemi Panarin.

The league has "not been aware of or received a complaint in relation to any incident involving Artemi Panarin in December 2011," the KHL said in a statement to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

If a complaint had been made, the league insisted Wednesday it would have investigated, "as we take any allegations of misconduct incredibly seriously."

Panarin is at his home in Connecticut and doesn't intend to fly home to Russia at the moment, reports Kaplan.

The New York Rangers star stepped away from the team indefinitely Monday in the wake of Nazarov's allegation that Panarin got into a physical altercation with an 18-year-old woman on a KHL road trip to Riga, Latvia. The Rangers called the story "fabricated" and "unfounded," while throwing their full support behind the forward.

No evidence has been presented, no victim has come forward, and no court or police records have been found that would corroborate Nazarov's allegation since Panarin took leave, according to Kaplan.

Nazarov, a former NHLer who coached Panarin with KHL club Vityaz at the time, is a known supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Panarin has shown solidarity with opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was sentenced to more than three years in prison earlier this month after being poisoned over the summer.

The Rangers believe Nazarov's claims are in retaliation for Panarin's Instagram post in January, according to Kaplan. Panarin captioned the post "freedom for Navalny" in Russian.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league is also looking into the allegations.

Several of Panarin's former teammates with Vityaz questioned the allegations and defended him Tuesday.

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