The 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League was the 60th season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1934. The league started on 11 September 2021 and ended on 4 June 2022.
It was the second season to feature a "split" format, following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, in which the season was divided into two phases. Ahed won their eighth league title undefeated. Defending champions Ansar, who won their 14th title in 2020–21, finished second. Sporting, who were newly promoted, and Shabab Bourj, who withdrew from the league, were relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.
Summary
Regulations Each club had 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. Also, each club was allowed a maximum of eight players over the age of 30, with only five being able to be fielded in a game. In case a club was to not meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have three points deducted from their total in the league.
Due to the economic situation in Lebanon, no foreign players were allowed to play in the league in the first half of the season. In the second half, teams were allowed to contract one foreign player, for the first time since October 2019.
Format Following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, the 2021–22 season consisted of two phases: in the first phase, each team played against one another once. In the second phase, the 12 teams were divided into two groups based on their position in the first phase; the teams carried over their point tally from the first phase. After the first phase was completed, clubs could not move out of their own half in the league, even if they achieved more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.
The top six teams played against each other twice, as opposed to the previous season where they played each other once; the champion automatically qualified to the 2023–24 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs—assuming they met the criteria set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The runners-up instead directly qualified to the 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage—as long as the champions met the AFC criteria for the AFC Champions League. The bottom six teams also played against each other twice, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.
Events Following Nejmeh's refusal to play Ahed on 9 January 2022, the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) decided to assign a 3–0 walkover win to Ahed, deducted 6 points from Nejmeh, and fined them £L10 million. Nejmeh's decision not to play came as a form of protest against the refereeing in their game against Tadamon Sour one week prior.
Following Shabab Bourj's failure to comply to FIFA's request for them to compensate former player Lorougnon Christ Remi, and rumours of a merger with Safa, the club withdrew from the league. On 30 May 2022, the LFA announced that Shabab Bourj were fined £L12.5 million, were relegated to the Second Division, and that all of their matches in the championship round were voided.
Teams
Twelve teams competed 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
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. TeamLocationStadiumCapacityAhedBeirut Ahed Stadium2,000Akhaa Ahli AleyAleyAmin Abdelnour StadiumAnsarBeirut Ansar StadiumBourjBeirut Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium1,500NejmehBeirut Rafic Hariri Stadium5,000SafaBeirut Safa Stadium4,000SagesseBeirut Sin El Fil StadiumShabab BourjBeirut Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium1,500Shabab SahelBeirut Shabab Al Sahel StadiumSportingBeirut Rafic Hariri Stadium5,000Tadamon SourTyreSour Municipal StadiumTripoliTripoliTripoli Municipal Stadium
Foreign players Lebanese clubs were allowed to contract a foreign player for the second half of the season. TeamPlayerAhed Ahmed AkaïchiAkhaa Ahli Aley Dennis TettehAnsar Ichaka DiarraBourj Bersyl ObassiNejmeh Pedro KadriSafa Nicholas CofieSagesse Boucounta SarrShabab BourjShabab Sahel Christian ObiozorSporting Junior MalaTadamon SourTripoli Joseph Ansah
League table
Season statistics Scoring Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Mahmoud Siblini Nejmeh10 Fadel Antar Shabab Sahel3 Boucounta Sarr Sagesse6 Hussein Jawad Khalife Shabab Sahel Ahmad Hijazi Ansar Karim Darwich Ansar7 Said Awada Akhaa Ahli Aley6 Mohamad Kdouh Ahed
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Shabab SahelSafa 5–0 4Shabab SahelTripoli 4–1 NejmehAkhaa Ahli Aley 3–0 Shabab SahelTadamon Sour 4–1 Notes 4 Player scored 4 goals
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Mostafa MatarAhed112 Nazih AssaadAnsar103 Ali SabehNejmeh8 Shaker WehbeAkhaa Ahli Aley5 Ahmad KorhaniTripoli76 Hassan MoghniehBourj6
Notes
References
External links