2015–16 Israeli Premier League

Israeli Premier League
Champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva (3rd title)
Relegated Hapoel Acre
Maccabi Netanya
Champions League Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Europa League Maccabi Tel Aviv
Beitar Jerusalem
Maccabi Haifa
Top goalscorer Eran Zahavi (35 goals)[1]
Biggest home win Maccabi Tel Aviv 6–0 Maccabi Haifa
Biggest away win Hapoel Tel Aviv 0-4 Bnei Sakhnin
Highest scoring Hapoel Be'er Sheva 5-2 Maccabi Petah Tikva
Average attendance 6,953 [2]

The 2015–16 Israeli Premier League was the seventeenth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 74th season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 22 August 2015 and ended in May 2016. Hapoel Be'er Sheva became champion after 40 years without winning a main national competition, interrupting the sequence of three consecutive titles of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Teams

A total of fourteen teams were competing in the league, including twelve sides from the 2014–15 season and two promoted teams from the 2014–15 Liga Leumit.

Hapoel Petah Tikva and F.C. Ashdod were relegated to the 2015–16 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2014–15 Israeli Premier League in the bottom two places.

Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv and Hapoel Kfar Saba were promoted after finishing the 2014–15 Liga Leumit in the top two places.

Stadia and locations

Beitar Jerusalem [3] Bnei Yehuda [4] Bnei Sakhnin [5] Hapoel Ironi Acre [6]
Teddy Stadium Bloomfield Stadium Doha Stadium Acre Municipal Stadium
Capacity: 31,733 Capacity: 14,413 Capacity: 8,500 Capacity: 5,000
Hapoel Be'er Sheva [7] Hapoel Haifa [8]
Turner Stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium
Capacity: 16,126 Capacity: 30,870
Hapoel Kfar Saba [9] Hapoel Ra'anana [10]
Levita Stadium Netanya Stadium
Capacity: 5,800 Capacity: 13,610
Hapoel Tel Aviv [11] Ironi Kiryat Shmona [12]
Bloomfield Stadium Ironi Stadium
Capacity: 14,413 Capacity: 5,300
Maccabi Haifa [13] Maccabi Netanya [14] Maccabi Petah Tikva [15] Maccabi Tel Aviv [16]
Sammy Ofer Stadium Netanya Stadium HaMoshava Stadium Bloomfield Stadium
Capacity: 30,870 Capacity: 13,610 Capacity: 11,500 Capacity: 14,413

Personnel and sponsorship

Team President Manager Captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Beitar Jerusalem Israel Tabib, EliEli Tabib Israel Drapić, SlobodanSlobodan Drapić Serbia Matović, DušanDušan Matović Puma itrader
Bnei Sakhnin Israel Abu Yunes, MohammedMohammed Abu Yunes Israel Abukasis, YossiYossi Abukasis Israel Khalaila, KhaledKhaled Khalaila Umbro Toyga
Bnei Yehuda Israel Damaio, MosheMoshe Damaio Israel Mizrahi, YossiYossi Mizrahi Israel Baldout, AssiAssi Baldout Macron Azrieli Group
Hapoel Ironi Acre Israel Barshishat, YehudaYehuda Barshishat Israel Dora, ShlomiShlomi Dora Israel Mishaelof, MosheMoshe Mishaelof Macron Azrieli Group
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel Barkat, AlonaAlona Barkat Israel Bakhar, BarakBarak Bakhar Israel Barda, ElyanivElyaniv Barda Kappa Mobli
Hapoel Kfar Saba Israel Shaham, StavStav Shaham Israel Mimer, SharonSharon Mimer Israel Dilmoni, HenHen Dilmoni Lotto
Hapoel Haifa Israel Katz, YoavYoav Katz Israel Ben Margi, MeirMeir Ben Margi Israel Roash, OshriOshri Roash Diadora Hatama
Hapoel Ra'anana Israel Alon, AsherAsher Alon Israel Silvas, HaimHaim Silvas Israel Shuker, SnirSnir Shuker Umbro ME Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel Fans, The RedThe Red Fans Israel Guttman, EliEli Guttman Israel Harush, ArielAriel Harush Puma Fujicom
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Israel Sheratzky, IzzyIzzy Sheratzky Israel Dora, ShlomiShlomi Dora Israel Raly, OzOz Raly Puma Ituran
Maccabi Haifa Israel Shahar, Ya'akovYa'akov Shahar Israel Levy, RonnyRonny Levy Israel Benayoun, YossiYossi Benayoun Nike Honda
Maccabi Netanya Israel Segev, EliEli Segev Israel Koretski, MeniMeni Koretski Israel Levy, EranEran Levy Joma Burgus Burger Bar
Maccabi Petah Tikva Israel Luzon, AmosAmos Luzon Israel Ben Shimon, RanRan Ben Shimon Israel Peser, NaorNaor Peser Macron Panorama North
Maccabi Tel Aviv Canada Goldhar, MitchellMitchell Goldhar Netherlands Bosz, PeterPeter Bosz Israel Zahavi, EranEran Zahavi Adidas

Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to five per team.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5
Beitar Jerusalem Australia Nikita Rukavytsya Brazil Claudemir Netherlands Arsenio Valpoort Serbia Dušan Matović Spain Jesús Rueda
Bnei Sakhnin Bosnia and Herzegovina Eldar Hasanović Brazil Georginho Brazil Diogo Kachuba Brazil Wanderson Spain Abraham Paz
Bnei Yehuda Argentina Pedro Galván Croatia Antonio Mršić Ivory Coast Thierry Doubai Nigeria Dele Aiyenugba Nigeria Jude Nworuh
Hapoel Acre Belgium Dylan Seys Montenegro Boris Kopitović Nigeria Samuel Gilmore Nigeria Lanry Kahinda Serbia Branislav Jovanović
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Brazil William Soares Nigeria Anthony Nwakaeme Nigeria John Ogu Romania Ovidiu Hoban
Hapoel Haifa Belarus Dmitriy Baga Croatia Marijan Antolovic Lithuania Tadas Kijanskas Montenegro Žarko Korać Portugal Bruno Pinheiro
Hapoel Kfar Saba Republic of the Congo Mavis Tchibota Croatia Dino Škvorc Greece Yiannis Papadopoulos Spain Hugo López
Hapoel Ra'anana Croatia Dejan Radonjić Senegal Mamadou Thiam Slovenia Rene Mihelič Zambia Evans Kangwa Zambia Emmanuel Mbola
Hapoel Tel Aviv Brazil Cauê The Gambia Hamza Barry Greece Loukas Vyntra Montenegro Nemanja Nikolić Romania Claudiu Bumba
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Bolivia Luis Gutiérrez Brazil Bruno Brazil Kassio Lithuania Rokas Stanulevičius Nigeria Austin Amutu
Maccabi Haifa Brazil Romário Netherlands Glynor Plet Poland Ludovic Obraniak Serbia Vladimir Stojković Spain Marc Valiente
Maccabi Netanya Burkina Faso Issoumaila Lingane Serbia Nemanja Petrović Serbia Milan Smiljanić Ukraine Andriy Mischenko
Maccabi Petah Tikva Brazil Allyson Democratic Republic of the Congo Joachim Mununga France Xavier Tomas Spain Aitor Monroy Sweden Rade Prica
Maccabi Tel Aviv Bosnia and Herzegovina Haris Medunjanin Nigeria Nosa Igiebor Portugal Orlando Sá Serbia Predrag Rajković Spain Carlos García

In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Israel Barak Bakhar Sacked 14 May 2015 Pre-season Israel Salah Hasarma 30 May 2015
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Israel Elisha Levy End of contract 30 May 2015 Israel Barak Bakhar 30 May 2015
Maccabi Haifa Israel Marco Balbul End of contract 30 May 2015 Israel Ronny Levy 30 May 2015
Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel Eli Cohen End of contract 30 May 2015 Spain César Mendiondo 30 May 2015
Maccabi Tel Aviv Spain Pako Ayestarán End of contract 30 May 2015 Serbia Jokanović, SlavišaSlaviša Jokanović 15 June 2015
Maccabi Netanya Israel Ronny Levy End of contract 30 May 2015 Israel Shlomi Dora 21 June 2015
Beitar Jerusalem Israel Guy Levy End of contract 7 June 2015 Israel Slobodan Drapić 7 June 2015
Hapoel Akko Israel Shlomi Dora Sacked 21 June 2015 Israel Yaron Hochenboim 28 June 2015
Hapoel Tel Aviv Spain César Mendiondo Sacked 3 September 2015 12th Israel Walid Badir (caretaker) 3 September 2015
Maccabi Netanya Israel Shlomi Dora Sacked 2 November 2015 14th Israel Reuven Atar 6 November 2015
Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel Walid Badir (caretaker) End of caretaker time 5 November 2015 13th Israel Guy Levy 5 November 2015
Bnei Yehuda Israel Yossi Abukasis Sacked 8 December 2015 9th Israel Yossi Mizrahi 9 December 2015
Bnei Sakhnin Israel Eli Cohen Sacked 18 December 2015 12th Israel Yossi Abukasis 19 December 2015
Hapoel Haifa Israel Tal Banin Sacked 21 December 2015 10th Israel Meir Ben Margi 21 December 2015
Maccabi Tel Aviv Serbia Slaviša Jokanović Signed By Fulham 27 December 2015 2nd Spain Javier Pereira Megía (caretaker) 27 December 2015
Hapoel Kfar Saba Israel Felix Naim Sacked 3 January 2016 13th Israel Sharon Mimer 11 January 2016
Maccabi Tel Aviv Spain Javier Pereira Megía (caretaker) End of caretaker time 4 January 2016 2nd Netherlands Peter Bosz 4 January 2016
Maccabi Netanya Israel Reuven Atar Sacked 10 January 2016 14th Israel Menahem Koretski 20 January 2016
Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel Guy Levi Sacked 19 January 2016 11th Israel Eli Guttman 19 January 2016
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona Israel Salah Hasarma Sacked 13 February 2016 10th Israel Shlomi Dora 14 February 2016

Regular season

Regular season table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 26 20 4 2 48 17 +31 64 Qualification for the championship round
2 Maccabi Tel Aviv 26 19 4 3 59 20 +39 61
3 Beitar Jerusalem 26 15 6 5 38 19 +19 51
4 Maccabi Haifa 26 10 8 8 33 25 +8 38
5 Bnei Sakhnin 26 10 6 10 32 25 +7 36
6 Hapoel Ra'anana 26 10 6 10 29 31 2 36
7 Bnei Yehuda 26 9 6 11 27 35 8 33 Qualification for the relegation round
8 Maccabi Petah Tikva 26 8 6 12 23 30 7 30
9 Hapoel Kfar Saba 26 7 8 11 19 31 12 29
10 Hapoel Acre 26 8 5 13 18 36 18 29
11 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 26 6 10 10 25 31 6 28
12 Hapoel Tel Aviv 26 6 9 11 17 31 14 27
13 Hapoel Haifa 26 5 10 11 27 37 10 25
14 Maccabi Netanya 26 1 8 17 10 37 27 11
Source: Israel Football Association, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[17]

Regular season results

Home ╲ Away BEI BnS BnYHACHBSHHAHKSHRAHTAIKSMHAMNEMPTMTA
Beitar Jerusalem 10 10 10 13 11 31 10 00 20 30 10 20 22
Bnei Sakhnin 13 22 20 01 00 20 23 10 30 12 00 10 02
Bnei Yehuda 21 02 02 00 10 21 13 13 22 00 12 11 01
Hapoel Acre 13 22 01 10 01 10 01 01 10 11 11 10 03
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 21 22 20 30 10 30 20 31 21 00 20 52 01
Hapoel Haifa 11 20 01 31 12 11 11 01 14 24 20 03 03
Hapoel Kfar Saba 10 10 12 01 12 22 00 11 00 10 10 01 00
Hapoel Ra'anana 02 10 02 31 23 22 22 01 11 02 10 10 02
Hapoel Tel Aviv 00 04 31 02 01 00 01 21 03 03 11 01 01
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 02 02 11 00 13 11 02 00 30 20 30 01 11
Maccabi Haifa 02 00 03 40 11 32 11 20 00 01 10 40 02
Maccabi Netanya 00 02 02 00 02 12 01 13 11 11 03 00 13
Maccabi Petah Tikva 20 01 31 12 01 11 20 02 11 00 11 10 12
Maccabi Tel Aviv 24 32 40 50 12 21 50 12 11 50 21 21 31

Updated to games played on 7 March 2016.
Source: Israel Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-offs

Championship round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games):[18]

Rounds
27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th
1 – 6
2 – 5
3 – 4
1 – 2
5 – 3
6 – 4
2 – 6
3 – 1
4 – 5
1 – 4
2 – 3
6 – 5
3 – 6
4 – 2
5 – 1
6 – 1
5 – 2
4 – 3
2 – 1
3 – 5
4 – 6
6 – 2
1 – 3
5 – 4
3 – 2
4 – 1
5 – 6
6 – 3
2 – 4
1 – 5

Championship round table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (C) 36 25 8 3 66 24 +42 83 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2 Maccabi Tel Aviv 36 24 9 3 76 24 +52 81 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Beitar Jerusalem[lower-alpha 1] 36 18 6 12 46 37 +9 58
4 Maccabi Haifa 36 14 11 11 45 42 +3 53 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
5 Bnei Sakhnin 36 13 9 14 46 40 +6 48
6 Hapoel Ra'anana 36 11 9 16 38 48 10 42
Source: Israel Football Association, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[20]
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Beitar Jerusalem deducted two points because of racial slurs by their fans.[19]
  2. Maccabi Haifa qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Israel State Cup.

Championship round results

Home ╲ Away BEI BnS HBSHRAMHAMTA
Beitar Jerusalem 03 02 10 32 02
Bnei Sakhnin 20 14 11 01 00
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 20 31 00 11 11
Hapoel Ra'anana 12 23 14 30 11
Maccabi Haifa 10 33 21 20 00
Maccabi Tel Aviv 32 10 00 30 60

Updated to games played on 21 May 2016.
Source: Israel Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games):[18]

Rounds
27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd
7 – 11
8 – 13
9 – 12
10 – 14
7 – 8
13 – 9
12 – 10
11 – 14
8 – 11
9 – 7
10 – 13
14 – 12
8 – 9
7 – 10
13 – 14
11 – 12
9 – 11
10 – 8
14 – 7
12 – 13
9 – 10
8 – 14
7 – 12
11 – 13
10 – 11
14 – 9
12 – 8
13 – 7

Relegation round table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
7 Maccabi Petah Tikva 33 13 7 13 34 35 1 46
8 Bnei Yehuda 33 13 7 13 37 43 6 46
9 Hapoel Tel Aviv 33 10 12 11 30 37 7 42
10 Hapoel Kfar Saba 33 9 11 13 23 37 14 38
11 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 33 8 12 13 32 39 7 36
12 Hapoel Haifa 33 7 13 13 38 48 10 34
13 Hapoel Acre (R) 33 9 7 17 27 48 21 34 Relegation to Liga Leumit
14 Maccabi Netanya (R) 33 1 9 23 14 50 36 12
Source: Israel Football Association, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[21]
(R) Relegated.

Relegation round results

Home ╲ Away BnY HAC HHAHKSHTAIKSMNEMPT
Bnei Yehuda 31 24 10 12
Hapoel Acre 23 11 41 13
Hapoel Haifa 11 00 21
Hapoel Kfar Saba 01 00 03 21
Hapoel Tel Aviv 10 33 00
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 21 11 20
Maccabi Netanya 01 11 01
Maccabi Petah Tikva 21 01 20 21

Updated to games played on 16 May 2016.
Source: Israel Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. Note that Championship round teams will play in 36 matchdays, and the Relegation round teams will compete in only 33 matches.

Team \ Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2 7 3 2 7 3 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Maccabi Tel Aviv 3 2 2 4 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
Beitar Jerusalem 8 10 9 12 10 5 7 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Maccabi Haifa 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 12 11 13 11 8 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6 5 5 5 6 6 4 4 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4
Bnei Sakhnin 10 13 13 9 6 9 6 7 8 9 10 7 7 10 12 13 12 11 12 10 10 9 7 5 5 5 6 5 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5
Hapoel Ra'anana 7 3 6 3 4 8 5 3 5 5 4 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 5 4 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Maccabi Petah Tikva 5 1 1 1 1 2 4 6 6 7 5 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 4 5 6 7 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 8 8 7 7
Bnei Yehuda 1 6 10 5 11 12 8 8 7 6 7 9 9 7 7 7 8 10 8 8 8 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 7 7 8 8
Hapoel Tel Aviv 9 12 12 8 5 6 9 10 13 10 12 10 10 8 11 11 11 9 11 12 12 12 11 11 12 12 10 9 9 9 9 9 9
Hapoel Kfar Saba 6 4 7 10 12 13 11 9 12 12 8 11 11 11 9 12 13 12 10 9 9 10 8 9 9 9 11 12 12 10 10 10 10
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 13 5 5 7 9 4 3 4 4 4 6 6 8 9 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 8 10 10 10 10 12 11 11 11 12 11 11
Hapoel Haifa 4 9 8 11 8 10 12 13 9 11 13 13 13 12 10 9 9 8 9 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 11 12 12
Hapoel Ironi Acre 11 8 4 6 3 7 10 11 10 8 9 12 12 13 13 10 10 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 9 10 10 13 13 13 13
Maccabi Netanya 12 11 11 13 13 11 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

Source: Israel Football Association

2016–17 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
2016–17 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round
Relegation to 2016–17 Liga Leumit

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Israel Eran Zahavi Maccabi Tel Aviv 35
2 Australia Nikita Rukavytsya Beitar Jerusalem 14
Israel Shlomi Azulay Bnei Sakhnin
Israel Elyaniv Barda Hapoel Be'er Sheva
5 Zambia Evans Kangwa Hapoel Ra'anana 11
Argentina Pedro Joaquín Galván Bnei Yehuda
Nigeria Anthony Nwakaeme Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Israel Mahran Lala Hapoel Haifa
9 Israel Eliran Atar Maccabi Haifa 10
Israel Ofir Mizrahi Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Israel Tal Ben Haim Maccabi Tel Aviv

Source: Israel Football Association

Attendances

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Maccabi Haifa 20,826 n/a
2 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 15,941 n/a
3 Maccabi Tel Aviv 11,915 n/a
4 Beitar Jerusalem 10,416 n/a
5 Hapoel Tel Aviv 9,375 n/a
6 Hapoel Haifa 4,572 n/a
7 Maccabi Netanya 4,241 n/a
8 Bnei Yehuda 3,642 n/a
9 Maccabi Petah Tikva 3,462 n/a
10 Hapoel Kfar Saba 2,968 n/a
11 Bnei Sakhnin 2,805 n/a
12 Hapoel Ra'anana 2,305 n/a
13 Hapoel Acre 1,958 n/a
14 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 1,800 n/a
League total 7,479 n/a

Updated to games played on 4 June 2016
Source: Official club websites and

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.