2021–22 Lebanese Premier League

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Lebanese Premier League
Season2021–22
Dates11 September 2021 – 10 April 2022
Matches played66
Goals scored153 (2.32 per match)
Top goalscorerFadel Antar (10 goals)
Best goalkeeperMostafa Matar (7 clean sheets)
Biggest winShabab Bourj 6–0 Sagesse
(9 January 2022)
Highest scoringShabab Bourj 6–0 Sagesse
(9 January 2022)
→
All statistics correct as of 20 February 2022.

The 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League is the 60th season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1934. The league started on 11 September 2021.

It is the second season to feature a "split" format, following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, where the season is divided into two phases. Ansar are the defending champions, having won their 14th title in 2020–21.

Summary[]

Regulations[]

Each club has to involve one player under the age of 22 for at least 600 minutes, two players for at least 800 combined minutes, and three players for at least 1,200 combined minutes.[1] Also, each club is allowed a maximum of eight players over the age of 30, with only five being able to be fielded in a game.[1] In case a club is to not meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they will have three points deducted from their total in the league.[1]

Due to the economic situation in Lebanon, no foreign players were allowed to play in the league in the first half of the season.[2] In the second half, teams were allowed to contract one foreign player, for the first time since October 2019.[3]

Format[]

Following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, the 2021–22 season consists of two phases: in the first phase, each team plays against one another once.[2] In the second phase, the 12 teams are divided into two groups based on their position in the first phase; the teams carry over their point tally from the first phase.[4] After the first phase is completed, clubs can not move out of their own half in the league, even if they achieve more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.[4]

The top six teams play against each other once,[2] with the champion automatically qualifying to the —assuming they meet the criteria set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[5] The runners-up instead directly qualify to the —as long as the champions meet the AFC criteria for the AFC Champions League.[2] The bottom six teams also play against each other once, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.[2]

Events[]

Following Nejmeh's refusal to play Ahed on 9 January 2022, the Lebanese Football Association decided to assign a 3–0 walkover to Ahed, deducted 6 points from Nejmeh, and fined them LL10 million.[6] Nejmeh's decision not to play came as a form of protest against the refereeing in their game against Tadamon Sour one week prior.[6]

Teams[]

See also: List of football clubs in Lebanon

Twelve teams compete in the league – the top ten teams from the 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League season and the two teams promoted from the Lebanese Second Division.

Stadiums and locations[]

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League teams
[Interactive fullscreen map]
Beirut Lebanese Premier League clubs

Prior to the start of each season, every team choose two stadiums as their home venues. In case both stadiums are unavailable for a certain matchday, another venue was used.

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Ahed Beirut (Ouzai) Ahed Stadium[note 1] 2,000
Akhaa Ahli Aley Aley Amin AbdelNour Stadium 3,500
Ansar Beirut (Tariq El Jdideh) [note 1] N/A
Bourj Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) [note 1] 1,500
Nejmeh Beirut (Ras Beirut) Rafic Hariri Stadium[note 1] 5,000
Safa Beirut (Wata El-Museitbeh) Safa Stadium[note 1] 4,000
Sagesse Beirut (Achrafieh)
Shabab Bourj Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) [note 1] 1,500
Shabab Sahel Beirut (Haret Hreik) [note 1] N/A
Sporting Beirut (Ras Beirut) Rafic Hariri Stadium[note 1] 5,000
Tadamon Sour Tyre Sour Municipal Stadium 6,500
Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli Municipal Stadium 22,000

Foreign players[]

Lebanese clubs were allowed to contract a foreign player for the second half of the season.[3]

Team Player
Ahed Tunisia Ahmed Akaïchi
Akhaa Ahli Aley Ghana Dennis Tetteh
Ansar Mali Ichaka Diarra
Bourj Republic of the Congo Bersyl Obassi
Nejmeh Brazil Pedro Kadri
Safa Ghana
Sagesse Senegal
Shabab Bourj
Shabab Sahel Nigeria Christian Obiozor
Sporting Cameroon
Tadamon Sour
Tripoli Ghana Joseph Ansah

League table[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Ahed 11 9 2 0 20 3 +17 29 Qualification for AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs
2 Bourj 11 6 5 0 15 6 +9 23 Qualification for AFC Cup group stage
3 Shabab Sahel 11 6 2 3 20 13 +7 20 Standby team for AFC Cup group stage
4 Ansar 11 4 3 4 17 11 +6 15
5 Shabab Bourj 11 4 2 5 15 17 −2 14[b]
6 Tadamon Sour 11 3 5 3 12 10 +2 14[b]
7 Tripoli 11 4 2 5 13 15 −2 14[b]
8 Nejmeh[c] 11 4 5 2 13 8 +5 11
9 Sagesse 11 3 1 7 7 23 −16 10
10 Safa 11 2 3 6 5 17 −12 9[d]
11 Akhaa Ahli Aley 11 2 3 6 7 12 −5 9[d] Relegation to Lebanese Second Division
12 Sporting 11 2 1 8 9 18 −9 7
Source: Global Sports Archive
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams play each other once (11 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
  2. ^ a b c Head-to-head results: Shabab Bourj 0–0 Tadamon Sour, Tripoli 0–3 Shabab Bourj, Tadamon Sour 1–0 Tripoli.
  3. ^ Nejmeh forfeited in matchday 9 and were deducted 6 points.
  4. ^ a b Head-to-head results: Akhaa Ahli Aley 0–1 Safa

Season statistics[]

As of match played 20 February 2022[7]

Scoring[]

Top scorers[]

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Lebanon Fadel Antar Shabab Sahel 10
2 Lebanon Mohamad Kdouh Ahed 6
3 Lebanon Sporting 4
Lebanon Ahmad Moghrabi Tripoli
Lebanon Adnan Melhem Tadamon Sour
Lebanon Shabab Sahel
Lebanon Hilal El Helwe Ahed

Hat-tricks[]

Player For Against Result Date
Lebanon Fadel Antar Shabab Sahel Safa 5–0[8] 18 September 2021
Lebanon Fadel Antar4 Shabab Sahel Tripoli 4–1[9] 25 September 2021
Lebanon Mahmoud Siblini Nejmeh Akhaa Ahli Aley 3–0[10] 11 March 2022
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals

Most assists[]

Rank Player Club Assists
1 Lebanon Shabab Sahel 6
2 Lebanon Fadel Antar Shabab Sahel 4
Lebanon Ahmad Hijazi Ansar
2 Lebanon Mohamad Kdouh Ahed 3
Lebanon Sporting
Lebanon Hassan Maatouk Ansar

Clean sheets[]

Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 Lebanon Mostafa Matar Ahed 7
2 Lebanon Ansar 5
3 Lebanon Hassan Moghnieh Bourj 4
Lebanon Ali Sabeh Nejmeh

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Only used as a training ground

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "الاتحاد اللبناني يعلن عن قرارات حاسمة". كووورة. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Abou Diab, Rami (25 June 2020). "The new regulations for the Lebanese Premier League". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b "10 أندية تستعين بالأجانب قبل استئناف الدوري اللبناني". كووورة. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b "هل يُمكن أن يُحسم اللقب قبل الدورة السداسية؟". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  5. ^ Abdallah, Rakan (1 August 2020). "What are the criteria for a Lebanese club to play in the Champions League?". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  6. ^ a b "الاتحاد اللبناني يخسّر النجمة أمام العهد ويغرمه". كووورة. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Lebanese First Division 2021/2022". Global Sports Archive. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Shabab Al Sahel FC vs Safa SC". FA Lebanon. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Shabab Al Sahel FC vs AC Tripoli". FA Lebanon. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Match Report of Al Akhaa Al Ahli SC Aley vs Nejmeh SC - 2022-03-11 - Lebanese First Division - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved 12 March 2022.

External links[]

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