The 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League season, referred to as the VBet Liha for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st top-level football club competition since the fall of the Soviet Union and the 14th since the establishment of the Ukrainian Premier League. On 1 July 2021, UPL announced that the new title sponsor for the next three years will be another bookmaking company, VBet.[3]
Season | 2021–22 |
---|---|
Dates | 24 July 2021 – 26 April 2022 |
Champions | Title not awarded |
Relegated | Desna Chernihiv Mariupol |
Champions League | Shakhtar Donetsk Dynamo Kyiv |
Europa League | Dnipro–1 |
Europa Conference League | Zorya Luhansk Vorskla Poltava |
Matches played | 143 |
Goals scored | 381 (2.66 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Artem Dovbyk (14 goals) |
Biggest home win | 7 goals Dynamo 7–0 Kolos (28 August 2021) |
Biggest away win | 5 goals Mariupol 0–5 Shakhtar (18 September 2021) Metalist 1925 1–6 Zorya (31 October 2021) Chornomorets 1–6 Dynamo (19 November 2021) |
Highest scoring | 7 goals 7 games |
Longest winning run | 8 matches Shakhtar Donetsk |
Longest unbeaten run | 15 matches Shakhtar Donetsk |
Longest winless run | 17 matches Mynai |
Longest losing run | 6 matches Mariupol Metalist 1925 |
Highest attendance | 28,073 Dynamo v Shakhtar (3 October 2021) |
Lowest attendance | 230 Inhulets v Kolos (18 September 2021)[a] |
Total attendance | 480451[2] |
Average attendance | 3533 |
← 2020–21 2022–23 →
All statistics correct as of 12 December 2021. |
The defending champions were the 16-time winners Dynamo Kyiv.
The competition was terminated at the UPL extraordinary general meeting on 26 April 2022 due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4] The league decided that it will not award a champion's title since the season was terminated early, yet the club's league standing would be used to determine qualification to clubs' continental competitions. The meeting was also attended by a number of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) officials, among which was the first vice-president Oleh Protasov. The UPL general meeting decision was submitted to UAF Executive Committee for approval. On 2 May 2022, the UAF Executive Committee confirmed early termination of season in the league. A further EGM was held on May 27 to decide promotion and relegation. This confirmed that Desna Chernihiv and Mariupol had both withdrawn from the league for the following campaign due to damage and destruction in their respective cities and facilities because of the war. Metalist Kharkiv and Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, who were the top two teams in the First League at the time of abandonment, were selected to be promoted by UAF.
Preparation
editThe 2021–22 season expanded again to 16 teams as part of the league's expansion plan.
Due to the low-intensity war with Russia that had been ongoing since 2014, teams from the Donbas area were forced to play elsewhere.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, attendance of football matches is limited and regulated by local health departments in each region.[5]
Because of a conflict between the president of Olimpik Donetsk Vladyslav Helzin and the Ukrainian Association of Football officials over a post-match incident that culminated in sanctions against the Olimpik's president, Helzin decided to voluntarily withdraw his football club from the Ukrainian Premier League and transfer away ownership of the club. The decision took place just a couple of weeks before the start of the new season, with the calendar already set. Both PFL and UPL called on emergency clubs' meetings to confirm changes and reinstate membership of the already relegated Mynai in the UPL and relegate Olimpik Donetsk to the second tier (First League) instead. Due to this, the Round 1 match between Dynamo and its visiting opponent was suspended until a later date.
The second half of the season was expected to start on February 25 with the Round 19 game Mynai – Zorya but was suspended due to a full-scale Russian invasion earlier on February 24. Later the President of Ukraine announced a martial law until April 25 and all sports events were forced to be suspended. With the open hostilities continued, it was decided to cancel the season earlier than May 21.
Teams
editThis season, as it was announced earlier, the Ukrainian Premier League has been expanded to 16 teams, which includes 13 teams from the previous season and the top three teams from the 2020–21 Ukrainian First League.
Promoted teams
edit- Veres Rivne – the champion of the 2020–21 Ukrainian First League (return after a three-year absence)
- Chornomorets Odesa – runner-up of the 2020–21 Ukrainian First League (return after a two-year absence)
- Metalist 1925 Kharkiv – third place of the 2020–21 Ukrainian First League (debut, another club Metalist Kharkiv last competed in 2015–16)
Relegated teams
edit- Olimpik Donetsk – the 13th place team of the 2020–21 Ukrainian Premier League (ending their seven-year stay in the top-flight)
Location map
editStadiums
editThree of the qualified to the date teams play their matches outside of home towns. The minimum threshold for the stadium's capacity in the UPL is 5,000 (Article 10, paragraph 7.2).[6]
The following stadiums are regarded as home grounds:
Notes
Personnel and sponsorship
editManagerial changes
editTeam | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Table |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shakhtar Donetsk | Luís Castro | Mutual agreement | 12 May 2021[10] | Pre-season | Roberto De Zerbi | 25 May 2021[11] | Pre-season |
Oleksandriya | Volodymyr Sharan | 13 May 2021[12] | Yuriy Hura | 18 May 2021[13] | |||
Mynai | Mykola Tsymbal | Changed position | 15 June 2021[14][15] | Vasyl Kobin | 15 June 2021[14][15] | ||
Chornomorets Odesa | Oleksiy Antonov | 23 June 2021[16] | Yuriy Moroz | 23 June 2021[16] | |||
Rukh Lviv | Ivan Fedyk | Mutual agreement | 4 August 2021[17] | 14th | Leonid Kuchuk | 4 August 2021[18] | 14th |
Lviv | Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi | Resigned | 25 August 2021[19] | 15th | Taras Chopyk (interim) | 25 August 2021[20][21] | 15th |
Kolos Kovalivka | Ruslan Kostyshyn | Resigned | 29 August 2021[22] | 11th | Syarhey Kuznyatsow (interim) | 29 August 2021[22] | 11th |
Lviv | Taras Chopyk (interim) | End of interim | 6 September 2021 | 15th | Oleg Dulub | 6 September 2021[23] | 15th |
Mynai | Vasyl Kobin | Fired | 29 September 2021[24] | 15th | Ihor Leonov | 9 October 2021[25] | 15th |
Kolos Kovalivka | Syarhey Kuznyatsow (interim) | Undisclosed | November 2021 | 11th | Yaroslav Vyshnyak (interim) | November 2021[26] | 11th |
Yaroslav Vyshnyak (interim) | Made permanent | 28 November 2021 | 10th | Yaroslav Vyshnyak | 28 November 2021[27] | 10th | |
Mynai | Ihor Leonov | Mutual agreement | 16 December 2021[28] | 15th | Volodymyr Sharan | 14 January 2022[29] | 15th |
Chornomorets Odesa | Yuriy Moroz | Undisclosed | 30 December 2021[30] | 13th | Roman Hryhorchuk | 30 December 2021[31] | 13th |
Notes:
- In the UPL match protocols, Mykola Tsymbal remains the manager of Mynai despite the official club's announcement about return of Vasyl Kobin.
League table
editPos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 10 | +39 | 47 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
2 | Dynamo Kyiv | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 9 | +38 | 45 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
3 | Dnipro-1 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 17 | +18 | 40 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
4 | Zorya Luhansk | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 19 | +18 | 36 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round |
5 | Vorskla Poltava | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 18 | +12 | 33 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
6 | Oleksandriya | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 26 | |
7 | Desna Chernihiv[b] | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 27 | −5 | 25 | Membership suspended after season |
8 | Kolos Kovalivka | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 23 | −9 | 24 | |
9 | Veres Rivne | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 20 | −5 | 23 | |
10 | Metalist 1925 Kharkiv | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 19 | |
11 | Rukh Lviv | 17 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 21 | −5 | 18 | |
12 | Lviv | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 30 | −16 | 17 | |
13 | Chornomorets Odesa | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 40 | −20 | 14 | |
14 | Inhulets Petrove | 17 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 28 | −15 | 13 | |
15 | Mynai | 18 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 30 | −18 | 10 | |
16 | Mariupol[b] | 18 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 21 | 44 | −23 | 8 | Membership suspended after season |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head higher number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) higher number of goals scored; 7) Draw or "Golden match" if two teams tied for title (Article 22, paragraph 3).[33]
Notes:
- ^ 6 games behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- ^ a b Desna Chernihiv and Mariupol confirmed that they cannot compete next season due to destroyed infrastructure and the difficult situation in their cities.[32]
Results
editTeams play each other twice on a home and away basis.
Season statistics
edit
Top goalscorerseditAs of 12 December 2021[update][34]
|
AssistseditAs of 22 August 2021[update][35][36]
|
Clean sheets
editAs of 12 December 2021[update][37]
Hat-tricks
editPlayer | For | Against | Result | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vladyslav Kocherhin | Zorya Luhansk | Inhulets Petrove | 5–1
|
2 August 2021[38] |
Shahab Zahedi | Zorya Luhansk | Veres Rivne | 3–0
|
7 November 2021[39] |
Awards
editMonthly awards
editMonth | Player of the Month | Coach of the Month | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Club | Coach | Club | ||
August 2021 | Artem Dovbyk | Dnipro-1 | Yuriy Virt | Veres Rivne | [40] |
September 2021 | Denys Harmash | Dynamo Kyiv | Viktor Skrypnyk | Zorya Luhansk | [41] |
October 2021 | Denys Harmash | Dynamo Kyiv | Yuriy Maksymov | Vorskla Poltava | [42] |
November 2021 | Artem Dovbyk | Dnipro-1 | Viktor Skrypnyk | Zorya Luhansk | [43] |
Round awards
editSee also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ Official Logo. Ukrainian Premier League website.
- ^ Statistics. upl.ua.
- ^ Официально: Титульным спонсором УПЛ стала букмекерская компания VBET. UA-Football. 1 July 2021
- ^ ОФИЦИАЛЬНО. Без призеров. Чемпионат Украины 2021/22 доигран не будет. Sport.ua. 26 April 2022
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Тимчасовий протокол для організації та проведення футбольних матчів в Україні серед професіональних футбольних клубів в умовах карантину з метою запобігання поширенню на території України гострої коронавірусної хвороби COVID-19 (Provisional protocol for organization and holding football matches in Ukraine among professional football clubs under conditions of quarantine with a goal to prevent spread across Ukrainian territory coronavirus disease COVID-19). uaf.ua. 15 March 2021
- ^ Locations where completion is conducted (Місця проведення змагань). 2018–19 Ukrainian Premier League regulations.
- ^ Veres presented three stadium for its home matches in the UPL (Верес заявив три стадіони для домашніх матчів в УПЛ). UA-Football. 9 June 2021
- ^ Povorozniuk: I want that new season Inhulets started at its own stadium (Поворознюк: “Хочу, щоб новий сезон Інгулець розпочав на своєму стадіоні”). stadiums.at.ua (from Sport Arena)
- ^ Inhulets is expecting to start the 2021–22 season at its own stadium (Інгулець розраховує почати сезон 2021/22 на новому стадіоні). sport.ua (from Footballua). 6 May 2021
- ^ "Thank you, Mr Castro!". FC Shakhtar Donetsk Official Website. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Benvenuto, Roberto!". FC Shakhtar Donetsk Official Website. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "Шаран залишає "Олександрію"" (in Ukrainian). FC Oleksandriya Official Website. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Юрій Гура — головний тренер ФК "Олександрія"" (in Ukrainian). FC Oleksandriya Official Website. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Кобін повернувся у Минай – фахівець лише у березні попрощався з клубом" (in Ukrainian). football24.ua. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Василь Кобін повертається в "Минай"" (in Ukrainian). fcminaj.com. 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-21. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Юрий Мороз — главный тренер "Черноморца"" (in Russian). FC Chornomorets Odesa Official Website. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Ivan Fedyk leaves the position of head coach of Rukh" (in Ukrainian). FC Rukh Lviv Official Website. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ ""Він повертається": Леонід Кучук - новий головний тренер Руху" (in Ukrainian). UA-Football. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ "Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi left Lviv" (in Ukrainian). FC Lviv Official Website. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Rukh – Lviv 1:0. Insipid derby" (in Ukrainian). UA-Football. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "The Lviv's coach: after the match with Rukh we will meet with the club's leadership" (in Ukrainian). UA-Football. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Ruslan Kostyshyn resigned" (in Ukrainian). FC Kolos Kovalivka Official Website. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Oleg Dulub is a head coach of FC Lviv" (in Ukrainian). FC Lviv Official Website. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Vasyl Kobin is no longer the coach of Mynai" (in Ukrainian). FC Mynai Official Website. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Mynai gets new head coach" (in Ukrainian). FC Mynai Official Website. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ "FC Kolos official statement concerning new head coach" (in Ukrainian). FC Kolos Kovalivka Official Website. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Yaroslav Vyshnyak is the head coach of FC Kolos" (in Ukrainian). FC Kolos Kovalivka Official Website. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ "Ihor Leonov is no longer the coach of Mynai" (in Ukrainian). FC Mynai Official Website. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Volodymyr Sharan is a new head coach of Mynai" (in Ukrainian). FC Mynai Official Website. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Gratitude for the cooperation" (in Ukrainian). FC Chornomorets Odesa Official Website. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Roman Hryhorchuk is the head coach of Chornomorets" (in Ukrainian). FC Chornomorets Odesa Official Website. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ There took place a work meeting of the UPL members (Відбулася робоча нарада учасників Української Прем’єр-Ліги) Archived 2022-06-01 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrainian Premier League. 27 May 2022
- ^ Defining of teams' places in competitions (Визначення місць команд у змаганнях). 2021–22 Ukrainian Premier League regulations.
- ^ Top scorers. Ukrainian Premier League.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) У чотирьох асистентів по чотири асисти (Four assistants have four assists each). Ukrainian Premier League. 28 August 2021
- ^ "Most Clean Sheets". www.footystats.org/. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Most Clean Sheets". www.footystats.org/. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- ^ Inhulets–Zorya game report at Official UPL Site
- ^ Zorya–Veres game report at Official UPL Site
- ^ "Довбик і Вірт — найкращі гравець і тренер місяця VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Гармаш і Скрипник — найкращі гравець і тренер місяця VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Гармаш і Максимов — найкращі гравець і тренер місяця VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Довбик і Скрипник — найкращі гравець і тренер місяця VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Артем Довбик — найкращий гравець 1-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Валерій Кривенцов — найкращий тренер 1-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Владислав Кочергін — найкращий гравець 2-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Віктор Скрипник – найкращий тренер 2-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Денис Безбородько — найкращий гравець 3-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Юрій Гура – найкращий тренер 3-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Богдан Шуст — найкращий гравець 4-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Юрій Мороз – найкращий тренер 4-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Віталій Буяльський — найкращий гравець 5-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ "Мірча Луческу – найкращий тренер 5-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Михайло Сергійчук — найкращий гравець 6-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ "Юрій Вірт — найкращий тренер 6-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Михайло Сергійчук — найкращий гравець 6-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ "Остап Маркевич – найкращий тренер 7-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Олег Білик — найкращий гравець 8-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Віктор Скрипник – найкращий тренер 8-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Владислав Кочергін — найкращий гравець 9-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Віктор Скрипник – найкращий тренер 9-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Олівьє Тілль — найкращий гравець 10-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Мірча Луческу – найкращий тренер 10-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Рангел — найкращий гравець 11-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Роберто Де Дзербі – найкращий тренер 11-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Дмитро Криськів — найкращий гравець 12-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Валерій Кривенцов – найкращий тренер 12-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Сидорчук — найкращий гравець 13-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ "Віктор Скрипник – найкращий тренер 13-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Шахаб — найкращий гравець 14-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ "Юрій Максимов — найкращий тренер 14-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Артем Довбик — найкращий гравець 15-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Олег Дулуб – найкращий тренер 15-го туру VBET Ліги".
- ^ "Артем Довбик — найкращий гравець 16-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Ігор Йовічевіч – найкращий тренер 16-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Беньямін Вербич — найкращий гравець 17-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Ярослав Вишняк – найкращий тренер 17-го туру VBET Ліги!".
- ^ "Аллахяр — найкращий гравець 18-го туру VBET Ліги!". Ukrainian Premier League. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Юрій Мороз — найкращий тренер 18-го туру VBET Ліги".
External links
edit- Official website of the Ukrainian Premier League
- The season's calendar planner. Ukrainian Association of Football (MS spreadsheet)
- The season's calendar planner. Ukrainian Premier League. (pdf format)