1973–74 Yugoslav First League (Prva savezna liga Jugoslavije, Prvenstvo 1973/74) competition was the 46th top league season since 1923 in various incarnations of Yugoslavia. It was won by Hajduk Split by the tightest of margins over second placed Velež. The two teams were tied on points at the end of the season, so the goal difference decided the title.
Had the current three-points-for-a-win system been in use instead of the standard two-points-for-a-win that was used at the time, Velež Mostar would have been champions with 64 points, while Hajduk would have been be second with 63.
This was Hajduk's 7th league title overall (their 5th after the World War II).
Teams A total of eighteen teams contested the league, including sixteen sides from the 1972–73 season and two sides promoted from the 1972–73 Yugoslav Second League (YSL) as winners of the two second level divisions East and West. The league was contested in a double round robin format, with each club playing every other club twice, for a total of 34 rounds. Two points were awarded for wins and one point for draws.
Spartak Subotica and Sutjeska Nikšić were relegated from the 1972–73 Yugoslav First League after finishing the season in bottom two places of the league table. The two clubs promoted to top level were Proleter Zrenjanin and NK Zagreb.
Team Location Federal Republic Positionin 1972–73BorBor01515thBorac Banja LukaBanja Luka01212thČelikZenica01414thDinamo ZagrebZagreb0088thHajduk SplitSplit0099thOFK BelgradeBelgrade0033rdOlimpija LjubljanaLjubljana01616thPartizanBelgrade0044thProleter ZrenjaninZrenjaninRadnički NišNiš01111thRed StarBelgrade0011stSarajevoSarajevo0077thSlobodaTuzla0066thVardarSkopje01010thVeležMostar0022ndVojvodinaNovi Sad01313thNK ZagrebZagrebŽeljezničarSarajevo0055th
League table
Results
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Danilo PopivodaOlimpija172 Dušan BajevićVelež163 Husnija FazlićBorac Banja Luka154 Stanislav KarasiRed Star14 Nenad BjekovićPartizan Mate GavranČelik7 Slaviša ŽungulHajduk Split12 Dušan ŠujicaVardar Slobodan RadovićBor10 Aleksandar PanajotovićRed Star11
Match-fixing allegations FK Velež player Vahid Halilhodžić, whose team spent the spring of 1974 in a tight league title race with Hajduk Split, alleged in a 2023 interview that Hajduk fixed its last 1973-74 league match away at OFK Beograd (Hajduk won 0-2) while further insinuating that the approach took place through OFK goalkeeper Petar Borota.
See also 1973–74 Yugoslav Second League 1973 Yugoslav Cup
References
External links Yugoslavia Domestic Football Full Tables