Russian soccer league elects Khachaturyants as president

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top clubs have elected Ashot Khachaturyants as the new Premier League president in a sign the organization will be more closely aligned with the national soccer federation. Khachaturyants had been doing the job on an interim basis since Sergei Pryadkin resigned last month after 14 years in office and a year and a half into a new five-year term. His resignation followed disputes over TV rights and the league format. The league says Khachaturyants was the only candidate and was elected unanimously. He was previously head of the refereeing commission of the Russian Football Union.