Former Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters was fired by Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on Tuesday after a year and a half with the club.

Peters, who resigned from his position with the Flames in 2019 following allegations he previously used racial slurs and struck players, was hired by the KHL team in April 2020.

With 22 games remaining in their regular season, Avtomobilist currently sit in the eighth and final playoff spot in the KHL's Western Conference with a 14-15-5 record. The team finished seventh in the conference last season and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in five games. 

Peters' resignation from the Flames came after former NHL player Akim Aliu alleged that Peters used a racial slur towards him several times during the 2009-10 season while the two were with the Chicago Blackhawks' AHL affiliate in Rockford. Former NHL defenceman Michal Jordan also alleged Peters kicked him while the two were with the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Hockey is for all. I believe in second chances for everyone, that we can all find forgiveness in our heart, and that real positive change is coming if we continue to push forward together," Aliu wrote in a statement last April when Peters was hired in Russia. "I don't resent a man for finding work, but I will fight to make sure those same opportunities are available to everyone, on and off the ice, regardless of race or ethnicity. I'm also patiently looking forward to the outcome of the NHL's investigation. Only with the past behind us can we focus on the future. That means bringing hockey to the underprivileged youth in order to make the game more diverse, affordable and accessible to all regardless of race, gender and economic background. Stay tuned."

*Files from the Canadian Press were used in this report