The 2015–16 Russian Premier League was the 24th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 14th under the current Russian Premier League name.
Zenit Saint Petersburg came into the season as defending champions of the 2014–15 season. CSKA Moscow won the title on the final day.
Teams
As in previous season, 16 teams played in the 2015–16 season. After the 2014–15 season, FC Torpedo Moscow and FC Arsenal Tula were relegated to the 2015–16 Russian National Football League. They were replaced by two clubs who qualified automatically from the 2014–15 Russian National Football League, FC Krylia Sovetov Samara and FC Anzhi Makhachkala.
Stadiums Team Stadium Opened CapacityAmkarZvezda, Perm 1969 17,130AnzhiAnzhi Arena, Kaspiysk 2003 24,859CSKAArena Khimki, Khimki 2008 18,636Dynamo MoscowArena Khimki, Khimki 2008 18,636KrasnodarKuban, Krasnodar 1961 30,889Krylia SovetovMetallurg, Samara 1957 33,001KubanKuban, Krasnodar 1961 30,889LokomotivLokomotiv, Moscow 2002 28,810MordoviaStart, Saransk 2004 11,613RostovOlimp-2, Rostov-on-Don 1930 15,843RubinKazan Arena, Kazan 2013 45,379Spartak MoscowOtkrytiye Arena, Moscow 2014 44,929TerekAkhmat-Arena, Grozny 2011 30,597UfaNeftyanik, Ufa 1967 15,234UralSKB-Bank Arena, Yekaterinburg 1940 10,000ZenitPetrovsky, Saint Petersburg 1925 21,042
Personnel and sponsorship TeamLocationHead coachCaptainKitmakerSponsorPerm Gadzhi Gadzhiyev Dmitri BelorukovJomaGovernment of Perm RegionMakhachkala Ruslan Agalarov Ali GadzhibekovNikeCaspian Flat GlassMoscow Leonid Slutsky Igor AkinfeevAdidasRossetiMoscow Sergei Chikishev (caretaker) Igor DenisovNikeVTBKrasnodar Oleg Kononov Andreas GranqvistKappaConstell GroupSamara Franky Vercauteren Ivan TaranovNikeGovernment of SamaraKrasnodar Igor Osinkin Aleksandr BelenovAdidasRGMKMoscow Igor Cherevchenko Vedran ĆorlukaAdidasRZDSaransk Marat Mustafin (caretaker) Aleksei IvanovAdidasMordovcementRostov-on-Don Kurban Berdyev Alexandru GațcanJomaEnergosbyt RostovenergoKazan Valeriy Chaly Oleg KuzminPumaTAIF-NKMoscow Dmitri Alenichev Artyom RebrovNikeLukoilGrozny Rashid Rakhimov Rizvan UtsiyevAdidasAkhmat FoundationUfa Sergei Tomarov (caretaker) Azamat ZaseyevJomaBashinformsvyazYekaterinburg Vadim Skripchenko Spartak GogniyevUmbroTMK Group Renova GroupSt. Petersburg André Villas-Boas DannyNikeGazprom
Managerial changes TeamOutgoingMannerDateTableIncomingDateTableMordovia Yuri SeminContract expired31 May 2015Юрий Семин оставляет пост главного тренера "Мордовии"pre-season Andrei Gordeyev3 June 2015Андрей Гордеев назначен главным тренером саранского ФК "Мордовия"pre-seasonSpartak Murat YakinMutual consent31 May 2015"Спартак" попрощался с Якиномpre-season Dmitri Alenichev10 June 2015НОВОСТИ - ДМИТРИЙ АЛЕНИЧЕВ — ГЛАВНЫЙ ТРЕНЕР «СПАРТАКА»pre-seasonAnzhi Makhachkala Sergei TashuyevContract expired31 May 2015Ташуев официально покинул "Анжи"pre-season Yuri Semin18 June 2015«Анжи» объявил о назначении Сёмина на пост главного тренераpre-seasonKuban Krasnodar Andrei Sosnitskiy (caretaker)End as caretaker31 May 2015Весь наш тренерский штаб покидает "Кубань", - Сосницкийpre-season Dmitri Khokhlov10 June 2015pre-seasonLokomotiv Moscow Igor Cherevchenko (caretaker)Change of contract2 June 2015Игорь Черевченко возглавил московский "Локомотивpre-season Igor Cherevchenko2 June 2015pre-seasonUral Sverdlovsk Oblast Aleksandr TarkhanovChange of contract8 June 2015pre-season Viktor Goncharenko14 June 2015pre-seasonDynamo Moscow Stanislav CherchesovMutual consent13 July 2015pre-season Andrey Kobelev13 July 2015pre-seasonUral Sverdlovsk Oblast Viktor GoncharenkoMutual consent1 September 201511th Vadim Skripchenko3 September 2015 (caretaker)22 September 2015 (permanent)11thRubin Kazan Rinat BilyaletdinovFired4 September 201515th Yuri Utkulbayev (caretaker)6 September 201515thRubin Kazan Yuri Utkulbayev (caretaker)Caretaking spell over10 September 201515th Valeriy Chaly10 September 2015 (caretaker)9 October 2015 (permanent)15thKuban Krasnodar Dmitri KhokhlovFired16 September 201516th Sergei Tashuyev17 September 201516thAnzhi Makhachkala Yuri SeminMutual consent29 September 201516th Ruslan Agalarov 29 September 2015 (caretaker)24 October 2015 (permanent)16thUfa Igor KolyvanovMutual consent21 October 201515th Yevgeni Perevertailo21 October 201515thMordovia Saransk Andrei GordeyevMutual consent7 April 201615th Marat Mustafin (caretaker)7 April 201615thKuban Krasnodar Sergei TashuyevResigned26 April 201614th Arsen Papikyan (caretaker)26 April 201614thKuban Krasnodar Arsen Papikyan (caretaker)Caretaking spell over4 May 201615th Igor Osinkin4 May 201615thDynamo Moscow Andrey KobelevMutual consent10 May 201612th Sergei Chikishev (caretaker)10 May 201612thUfa Yevgeni PerevertailoResigned18 May 201615th Sergei Tomarov (caretaker)18 May 201615th
Last updated: 18 May 2016
Tournament format and regulations
Basic The 16 teams played a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at home and once away. Thus, a total of 240 matches was played, with 30 matches played by each team.
Promotion and relegation The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the FNL, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the Premier League for the 2016–17 season.
The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL teams respectively in two playoff games with the winners securing Premier League spots for the 2016–17 season.
League table
Relegation play-offs The draw for relegation play-offs scheduling took place on 10 May 2016.
First leg
Second leg
Anzhi Makhachkala won 3–0 on aggregate and remained in the 2016–17 Russian Premier League.
Tom Tomsk won 2–1 on aggregate and were promoted to the 2016–17 Russian Premier League.
Results
Positions by round The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
Season statistics
Scoring First goal of the season: Haris Handžić for Ufa against Spartak Moscow (17 July 2015) First double: Hulk for Zenit against FC Ural (26 July 2015) First hat-trick: Spartak Gogniyev for FC Ural against Anzhi (12 March 2016) First poker: Fyodor Smolov for FC Krasnodar against FC Ural (10 April 2016)
Top goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoals (pen.)Minutes1 Fyodor SmolovKrasnodar2024502 Quincy PromesSpartak18 (2)24703 HulkZenit16 (6)22524 Artyom DzyubaZenit1423975 Ahmed MusaCSKA1225096 Yevgeni LutsenkoMordovia1018667 Maciej RybusTerek9 (1)1740 Pavel MamayevKrasnodar9 (3)2283 Sardar AzmounRostov9113010 Oumar NiasseLokomotiv8 (1)1165 Zé LuísSpartak81587 Lorenzo MelgarejoKuban/Spartak81559 Vladislav IgnatyevKuban/Lokomotiv8 (1)1701 Yannick BoliAnzhi8 (2)1889 Oleg ShatovZenit82049 Aleksandr SamedovLokomotiv82430 Last updated: 12 May 2016
Attendance
Average home attendances
Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
Updated as of 1 December 2015
Team Spartak 9 250,773 41,850 15,051 27,864 Zenit 9 151,659 18,593 14,880 16,851 Terek 8 128,229 19,780 12,470 16,029 Krylia Sovetov 8 114,277 26,280 4,089 14,285 FC Rostov 9 112,094 14,057 10,035 12,455 FC Krasnodar 8 97,867 25,250 4,875 12,233 Rubin 8 94,357 20,255 5,842 11,795 Anzhi 9 103,281 18,100 4,530 11,475 Kuban 9 85,218 15,213 5,517 9,469 Lokomotiv 8 72,740 14,140 5,348 9,093 CSKA 9 79,561 15,000 5,500 8,840 Amkar 9 70,440 14,800 2,350 7,827 Dynamo 8 55,661 13,500 3,623 6,958 FC Ufa 8 54,397 14,200 3,375 6,780 Mordovia 9 47,586 11,575 1,107 5,287 Ural 9 47,529 9,900 2,450 5,281
Highest attendances
Rank Round Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Stadium 1 5 Spartak 1–2CSKA 41,850Otkrytie Arena 2 10 Spartak 2–2Zenit 41,214Otkrytie Arena 3 12 Spartak 1–2Lokomotiv 38,651Otkrytie Arena 4 4 Krylia Sovetov 0–2Spartak 26,280Metallurg 5 7 Spartak 1–2Anzhi 26,167Otkrytie Arena 6 3 Spartak 1–0Rubin 26,163Otkrytie Arena 7 4 Krasnodar 1–1Kuban 25,250Kuban 8 2 Krasnodar 0–1Spartak 24,956Kuban 9 2 Krylia Sovetov 0–2CSKA 23,226Metallurg 10 1 Spartak 2–2Ufa 23,221Otkrytie Arena
Season events
Transfer bans On 3 September 2015, FC Anzhi Makhachkala was banned from registering new players for debts to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for Igor Denisov's transfer fee. Anzhi's debt was paid and the ban was lifted on 16 December 2015.
On 9 September 2015, FC Dynamo Moscow was banned from registering new players for debts to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for Igor Denisov's and Tomáš Hubočan's transfer fees and to FC Anzhi Makhachkala for Igor Denisov's, Vladimir Gabulov's and Christopher Samba's transfer fees. On 17 November 2015, the ban was re-confirmed due to new debts to former coaching staff (Stanislav Cherchesov, Miroslav Romaschenko and Vladimir Panikov). Dynamo's debts were paid and the ban was lifted on 15 December 2015.
On 10 September 2015, FC Rostov was banned from registering new players for debts to former player Artyom Dzyuba. On 8 October 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to FC Spartak Moscow for Artyom Dzyuba's transfer fee. On 29 October, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to FC Khimki for Ivan Novoseltsev's transfer fee. On 15 November 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to former players Anton Amelchenko and Vitali Dyakov and to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for Pavel Mogilevets's transfer fee. On 8 December 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to former player Hrvoje Milić and to FC Rubin Kazan for Sardar Azmoun's transfer fee. On 11 February 2016, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to player Nemanja Nikolić. Rostov's debts were paid and the ban was lifted on 24 February 2016.
On 24 September 2015, FC Kuban Krasnodar was banned from registering new players for debts to FC Lokomotiv Moscow for Sergei Tkachyov's transfer fee. On 15 November 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to FC Krylia Sovetov Samara for Anton Sosnin's transfer fee and to PFC CSKA Moscow for Svyatoslav Georgiyevsky's transfer fee. On 25 December 2015, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to former manager Leonid Kuchuk and to FC Dynamo Moscow for Stanislav Manolev's transfer free. On 21 January 2016, the ban was re-confirmed for debts to player Yevgeni Frolov. Kuban's debts were paid and the ban was lifted on 26 February 2016, 7 hours before the winter player registration window would close.
On 25 October 2015, FC Rubin Kazan was banned from registering new players for debts to former conditioning coach Yevgeni Bondarenko. Bondarenko and Rubin agreed on the debt settlement schedule and the ban was lifted on 17 February 2016.
On 8 December 2015, FC Amkar Perm was banned from registering new players for debts to former manager Slavoljub Muslin. Amkar's debt was paid and the ban was lifted on 28 January 2016.
Awards Top 33 On 31 May 2016, Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:
Goalkeepers Igor Akinfeev (CSKA) Gulherme (Lokomotiv) Soslan Dzhanayev (Rostov)
Right backs Igor Smolnikov (Zenit) Mário Fernandes (CSKA) Oleg Kuzmin (Rubin)
Right-centre backs Vasili Berezutski (CSKA) Vedran Ćorluka (Lokomotiv) Andreas Granqvist (Krasnodar)
Left-centre backs Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA) Ezequiel Garay (Zenit) Bastos (Rostov)
Left backs Vitaliy Denisov (Lokomotiv) Yuri Zhirkov (Dynamo/Zenit) Fyodor Kudryashov (Terek/Rostov)
Right defensive midfielders Pontus Wernbloom (CSKA) Javi García (Zenit) Oleg Ivanov (Terek)
Left defensive midfielders Alan Dzagoev (CSKA) Axel Witsel (Zenit) Christian Noboa (Rostov)
Attacking midfielders Pavel Mamayev (Krasnodar) Danny (Zenit) Roman Eremenko (CSKA)
Right wingers Hulk (Zenit) Quincy Promes (Spartak) Aleksandr Samedov (Lokomotiv)
Strikers Fyodor Smolov (Krasnodar) Artem Dzyuba (Zenit) Sardar Azmoun (Rostov)
Left wingers Ahmed Musa (CSKA) Oleg Shatov (Zenit) Dmitry Poloz (Rostov)
References
External links