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.Официально: Титульным спонсором УПЛ стала букмекерская компания VBET. UA-Football. 1 July 2021
The defending champions were the 16-time winners Dynamo Kyiv.
The competition was abandoned due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.ОФИЦИАЛЬНО. Без призеров. Чемпионат Украины 2021/22 доигран не будет. Sport.ua. 26 April 2022
Preparation The 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 COVID-19 pandemic, attendance of football matches was limited and regulated by local health departments in each region.(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
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.
Teams This 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 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 Olimpik Donetsk – the 13th place team of the 2020–21 Ukrainian Premier League (ending their seven-year stay in the top-flight)
Location map
Stadiums
Three 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).Locations where completion is conducted (Місця проведення змагань). 2018–19 Ukrainian Premier League regulations.
The following stadiums are regarded as home grounds:
RankStadiumPlaceClubCapacityNotes1NSC OlimpiyskiyKyivDynamo Kyiv 70,050Shakhtar Donetskused as home ground during the season2Metalist OSCKharkivMetalist 1925 Kharkiv 41,3073Arena LvivLvivLviv 34,915Rukh Lviv4Chornomorets StadiumOdesaChornomorets Odesa 34,1645Dnipro-ArenaDniproDnipro-1 31,0036Butovsky Vorskla StadiumPoltavaVorskla Poltava 24,7957Shukhevych Ternopil City StadiumTernopilLviv 15,150used as home ground in Round 108Zirka StadiumKropyvnytskyiInhulets Petrove 14,628used as home ground during the season9Volodymyr Boiko StadiumMariupolMariupol 12,68010Avanhard StadiumLutskVeres Rivne 12,080used as home ground during the season11Avanhard StadiumUzhhorodMynai 12,00012Slavutych-ArenaZaporizhzhiaZorya Luhansk 12,000used as home ground during the season13CSC Nika StadiumOleksandriyaOleksandriya 7,00014Chernihiv StadiumChernihivDesna Chernihiv 5,50015Kolos StadiumKovalivkaKolos Kovalivka 5,000
Notes
Personnel and sponsorship TeamPresidentHead coachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor Chornomorets Odesa Leonid Klimov Roman Hryhorchuk Serhiy Kravchenko Kelme Hefest Desna Chernihiv Volodymyr Levin Oleksandr Ryabokon Nike Parimatch Dnipro-1 Maksym Bereza Igor Jovićević Serhiy Lohinov Nike Parimatch Dynamo Kyiv Ihor Surkis Mircea Lucescu Serhiy Sydorchuk New Balance A-Bank Inhulets Petrove Oleksandr Povoroznyuk Serhiy Lavrynenko Joma etg.ua Kolos Kovalivka Andriy Zasukha Yaroslav Vyshnyak Nike Svitanok Lviv Bohdan Kopytko Oleg Dulub Jako Parimatch Mariupol Tariq Mehmood Chaudhry Ostap Markevych Dmytro Myshnyov Puma Parimatch Metalist 1925 Kharkiv Yaroslav Vdovenko Valeriy Kriventsov Denys Sydorenko Puma AES group Mynai Valeriy Peresolyak Volodymyr Sharan Danylo Knysh Kelme FavBet Oleksandriya Serhiy Kuzmenko Yuriy Hura Nike AhroVista Rukh Lviv Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi Leonid Kuchuk Yaroslav Martynyuk Macron First Casino Shakhtar Donetsk Rinat Akhmetov Roberto De Zerbi Andriy Pyatov Puma Parimatch Veres Rivne Ivan Nadieyin Yuriy Virt Bohdan Kohut Kelme Parimatch Vorskla Poltava Kostyantyn Zhevago Yuriy Maksymov Volodymyr Chesnakov Nike Ferrexpo Zorya Luhansk Yevhen Heller Viktor Skrypnyk Mykyta Shevchenko Nike Marsbet
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming managerDate of appointmentTableShakhtar Donetsk Luís CastroMutual agreement12 May 2021Pre-season Roberto De Zerbi25 May 2021Pre-seasonOleksandriya Volodymyr Sharan13 May 2021 Yuriy Hura18 May 2021Mynai Mykola TsymbalChanged position15 June 2021 Vasyl Kobin15 June 2021Chornomorets Odesa Oleksiy Antonov23 June 2021 Yuriy Moroz23 June 2021Rukh Lviv Ivan FedykMutual agreement4 August 202114th Leonid Kuchuk4 August 202114thLviv Anatoliy BezsmertnyiResigned25 August 202115th Taras Chopyk (interim)25 August 202115thKolos Kovalivka Ruslan KostyshynResigned29 August 202111th Syarhey Kuznyatsow (interim)29 August 202111thLviv Taras Chopyk (interim)End of interim6 September 202115th Oleg Dulub6 September 202115thMynai Vasyl Kobin Fired29 September 202115th Ihor Leonov9 October 202115thKolos Kovalivka Syarhey Kuznyatsow (interim)UndisclosedNovember 202111th Yaroslav Vyshnyak (interim)November 202111th Yaroslav Vyshnyak (interim)Made permanent28 November 202110th Yaroslav Vyshnyak28 November 202110thMynai Ihor Leonov Mutual agreement16 December 202115th Volodymyr Sharan14 January 202215thChornomorets Odesa Yuriy Moroz Undisclosed30 December 202113th Roman Hryhorchuk 30 December 202113th
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
Results Teams play each other twice on a home and away basis.
Season statistics
Top goalscorers Top scorers. Ukrainian Premier League.
RankScorerTeamGoals()1 Artem DovbykDnipro-114 (3)2 Viktor TsyhankovDynamo Kyiv11 (5)3 Vitaliy BuyalskyiDynamo Kyiv9 (1) TetêShakhtar Donetsk9 (1)5 Olivier ThillVorskla Poltava8 (2)6 Denys BezborodkoDesna Chernihiv7 Denys HarmashDynamo Kyiv78 Andriy KulakovMariupol6 Allahyar SayyadmaneshZorya Luhansk6 Shahab ZahediZorya Luhansk6 Ruslan StepanyukVorskla Poltava6 Lassina TraoréShakhtar Donetsk6 (1)
Assists У чотирьох асистентів по чотири асисти (Four assistants have four assists each). Ukrainian Premier League. 28 August 2021 RankScorerTeamAssists1 Vladyslav KalitvintsevDesna Chernihiv52 Olivier ThillVorskla Poltava4 Yukhym KonoplyaShakhtar Donetsk4 Oleksandr SklyarVorskla Poltava4 52 players3
Clean sheets
RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Bohdan KohutVeres Rivne92 Heorhiy BushchanDynamo Kyiv8 Dmytro MatsapuraZorya Luhansk4 Oleh BilykOleksandriya7 Valentin Cojocaru Dnipro-1 Dmytro RiznykVorskla Poltava7 Yuriy PankivRukh Lviv5 Anatoliy TrubinShakhtar Donetsk Yevhen VolynetsKolos Kovalivka10 Ihor LytovkaDesna Chernihiv4 Andriy PyatovShakhtar Donetsk
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Vladyslav KocherhinZorya LuhanskInhulets Petrove 2 August 2021Inhulets–Zorya game report at Official UPL Site Shahab ZahediZorya LuhanskVeres Rivne 7 November 2021Zorya–Veres game report at Official UPL Site
Awards Monthly awards MonthPlayer of the MonthCoach of the MonthPlayerClubCoachClubAugust 2021 Artem DovbykDnipro-1 Yuriy VirtVeres RivneSeptember 2021 Denys HarmashDynamo Kyiv Viktor SkrypnykZorya LuhanskOctober 2021 Denys HarmashDynamo Kyiv Yuriy MaksymovVorskla PoltavaNovember 2021 Artem DovbykDnipro-1 Viktor SkrypnykZorya Luhansk
Round awards
RoundPlayerCoachPlayerClubReferenceCoachClubReferenceRound 1 Artem DovbykDnipro-1 Valeriy KryventsovMetalist 1925 KharkivRound 2 Vladyslav KocherhinZorya Luhansk Viktor SkrypnykZorya LuhanskRound 3 Denys BezborodkoDesna Chernihiv Yuriy HuraOleksandriyaRound 4 Bohdan ShustInhulets Petrove Yuriy MorozChornomorets OdesaRound 5 Vitaliy BuyalskyiDynamo Kyiv Mircea LucescuDynamo KyivRound 6 Mykhaylo SerhiychukVeres Rivne Yuriy VirtVeres RivneRound 7 Oleh VyshnevskyiMynai Ostap MarkevychMariupolRound 8 Oleh BilykOleksandriya Viktor SkrypnykZorya LuhanskRound 9 Vladyslav KocherhinZorya Luhansk Viktor SkrypnykZorya LuhanskRound 10 Olivier ThillVorskla Poltava Mircea LucescuDynamo KyivRound 11 Lucas RangelVorskla Poltava Roberto De ZerbiShakhtar DonetskRound 12 Dmytro KryskivMetalist 1925 Kharkiv Valeriy KryventsovMetalist 1925 KharkivRound 13 Serhiy SydorchukDynamo Kyiv Viktor SkrypnykZorya LuhanskRound 14 Shahab ZahediZorya Luhansk Yuriy MaksymovVorskla PoltavaRound 15 Artem DovbykDnipro-1 Oleg DulubLvivRound 16 Artem DovbykDnipro-1 Igor JovićevićDnipro-1Round 17 Benjamin VerbičDynamo Kyiv Yaroslav VyshnyakKolos KovalivkaRound 18 Allahyar SayyadmaneshZorya Luhansk Yuriy MorozChornomorets Odesawinter breakRound 19Round 20Round 21Round 22Round 23Round 24Round 25Round 26Round 27Round 28Round 29Round 30
Abandonment The second half of the season was expected to start on 25 February with the 19th matchday game Mynai vs Zorya Luhansk. However, on 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and the Ukrainian government, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, declared martial law nationwide. As a consequence, the league was immediately suspended.
This season was abandoned on 26 April 2022. At the UPL extraordinary general meeting, the league decided that the season would be prematurely finished, and that it would not award a championship title for the season, but the league standings at the time would be used to determine qualification to UEFA 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 the premature finish to the seadon. 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 the 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.
See also 2021–22 Ukrainian First League 2021–22 Ukrainian Second League 2021–22 Ukrainian Football Amateur League 2021–22 Ukrainian Women's League 2021–22 Ukrainian Cup Global Tour for Peace List of Ukrainian football transfers summer 2021
Notes
References
External links Official website of the Ukrainian Premier League