The 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League season was the 23rd since its establishment.
A total of sixteen teams participated in the league. Fifteen teams from last season's competition and one promoted club from the 2012–13 Ukrainian First League formed the league. The competition commenced on the 12 July 2013 when Tavriya Simferopol hosted Zorya Luhansk. Eighteen rounds were played prior to the winter recess. The competition was affected by the political turmoil that affected Ukraine during the spring session.
Russian invasion and its effects on the league
In November 2013, during the winter break of the Ukrainian Premier League, a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest labelled Euromaidan started in Ukraine.Ukraine crisis timeline, BBC News The competition was to resume on 1 March 2014, but due to the Russian invasion continuing on with the Crimean crisis, the Premier League delayed the start of the spring stage. A decision was made by the Ukrainian Premier League to resume the competition on 15 March.
After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014 the teams from Crimea, namely Sevastopol and Tavriya Simferopol, continued to participate in the competition.
During the May 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine the Football Federation of Ukraine (after being advised to do so by the Ukrainian Interior MinistryUkraine calls for spectator ban at football matches, BBC News (7 May 2014)) decided that all matches across all Ukrainian leagues, as well as the 2014 Ukrainian Cup Final, would be played behind closed doors for security reasons.Ukraine matches to be staged behind closed doors , Reuters (9 May 2014)
The unrest in Ukraine since November 2013 led to an unexpected sense of unity among rival Ukrainian football fans. Various formerly bitter rival football fans (also those from Russophone cities in Ukraine) held pro-Ukrainian Unity marches.Ukrainian soccer celebrations ended in Odessa deaths, Reuters (3 May 2014)Three victims of yesterday's clashes in Kharkiv still remain in hospital, National Radio Company of Ukraine (28 April 2014)Ukraine crisis: Kyiv powerless as east slips out of its control, The Guardian (30 April 2014)
Teams Promoted FC Sevastopol, champion of the 2012-13 Ukrainian First League (returning after absence of 2 seasons)
Stal Alchevsk were to be promoted after finishing runners-up but their club administration refused promotion.FC Stal refuses to participate in Ukrainian Premier League, Interfax-Ukraine (13 June 2013)
Hoverla Uzhhorod, the 15th placed team was allowed to stay in the Premier League after they passed attestation.
Metalurh Zaporizhzhia, the last-placed of the 2012–13 Ukrainian Premier League was to be relegated to the Ukrainian First League at the end of the previous season but since no other team applied for entry from the Ukrainian First League they remained in the competition.
Location map
Stadiums The following stadiums are regarded as home grounds:
RankStadiumClubCapacityHighestattendanceNotes1NSC OlimpiyskiyDynamo Kyiv70,05059,360Round 24 (Shakhtar)Originally scheduled as Round 19Tavriya Simferopol11,575Round 19 (Dynamo)Used as home ground in Round 19Illichivets Mariupol0Round 29 (Dynamo)Used as home ground in Round 292Donbas ArenaShakhtar Donetsk52,51852,667Round 4 (Dynamo)3OSC MetalistMetalist Kharkiv40,00339,853Round 9 (Dynamo)4Chornomorets StadiumChornomorets Odesa34,16426,542Round 26 (Dynamo)Originally scheduled as Round 205Dnipro-ArenaDnipro Dnipropetrovsk31,00328,092Round 7 (Shakhtar)6Ukraina StadiumKarpaty Lviv28,05118,800Round 23 (Dynamo)Originally scheduled as Round 257Vorskla StadiumVorskla Poltava24,79512,500Round 11 (Dynamo)8Meteor StadiumMetalurh Donetsk24,3810Round 29 (Metalurh Z.)Used as home ground in Round 299Avanhard StadiumZorya Luhansk22,28813,700Round 15 (Dynamo)10RSC LokomotivTavriya Simferopol19,97810,500Round 5 (Shakhtar)11Dynamo StadiumArsenal Kyiv16,87310,841Round 13 (Dynamo)Sevastopol850Round 20 (Metalist)Used as home ground in postponed Round 20 matchMetalist Kharkiv1,500Round 30 (Vorskla)Used as home ground in Round 30 match12Illichivets StadiumIllichivets Mariupol12,6805,600 Round 4 (Karpaty)Round 6 (Metalurh Don.)13Avanhard StadiumVolyn Lutsk12,08010,000Round 16 (Dynamo)14Avanhard StadiumHoverla Uzhhorod12,00010,200Round 2 (Dynamo)15Slavutych-ArenaMetalurh Zaporizhzhia11,98311,000Round 5 (Dnipro)16 Central Stadium, CherkasyZorya Luhansk10,3210Round 29 (Shakhtar)Used as home ground in Round 29Shakhtar Donetsk2,300Round 30 (Volyn)Used as home ground in Round 3017SC SevastopolSevastopol5,644 5,641Round 2 (Shakhtar)18 Obolon Arena Chornomorets Odesa 5,100 3,200Round 30 (Karpaty)Used as home ground in Round 3019Metalurh StadiumMetalurh Donetsk5,0944,200Round 16 (Metalist)
Personnel and sponsorship TeamHome cityHead coachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsorChornomorets Odesa Odesa Roman Hryhorchuk Dmytro Bezotosnyi Nike ImexbankDnipro Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk Juande Ramos Ruslan Rotan Nike BiolaDynamo Kyiv Kyiv Serhii Rebrov Oleksandr Shovkovskyi adidas Nadra BankHoverla Uzhhorod Uzhhorod Vyacheslav Hrozny Oleksandr Nad' adidas —Illichivets Mariupol Mariupol Mykola Pavlov Mykola Ishchenko Nike —Karpaty Lviv Lviv Oleksandr Sevidov Oleh Holodyuk Joma FavbetMetalist Kharkiv Kharkiv Ihor Rakhayev Papa Gueye adidas Metalurh Donetsk Donetsk Sergei Tashuyev Vyacheslav Checher Umbro ISDMetalurh Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia Oleh Taran Serhiy Rudyka Nike ZaporizhstalSevastopol Sevastopol Angel Chervenkov Igor Duljaj Nike Smart HoldingShakhtar Donetsk Donetsk Mircea Lucescu Darijo Srna Nike SCMTavriya Simferopol Simferopol Nikolay Kostov Anis Boussaïdi Puma TitanVolyn Lutsk Lutsk Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi Vanče Šikov adidas—Vorskla Poltava Poltava Anatoliy Momot Armend Dallku adidas FerrexpoZorya Luhansk Luhansk Yuriy Vernydub Mykyta Kamenyuka Nike Holsten
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming head coachDate of appointmentHoverla Uzhhorod Oleksandr SevidovSackedMay 26Pre-season Vyacheslav HroznyJune 18Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Serhiy ZaytsevSackedMay 30 Serhiy PuchkovJune 10Vorskla Poltava Serhiy SvystunReserve coachJune 10 Vasyl SachkoJune 12Tavriya Simferopol Oleh LuzhnyiSackedJune 15 Giannis ChristopoulosJune 17Karpaty Lviv Yuriy Dyachuk-StavytskyiInterim coachJune 19 Oleksandr SevidovJune 19Vorskla Poltava Vasyl SachkoUnlicensed coachJuly 4 Anatoliy MomotJuly 4Metalurh Donetsk Yuriy Maksymov SackedAugust 510th Volodymyr Pyatenko (interim)August 5Metalurh Donetsk Volodymyr PyatenkoInterim coachAugust 710th Sergei TashuyevAugust 7Sevastopol Aleh Konanaw Leaves for FC KrasnodarAugust 109th Hennadiy OrbuAugust 10Arsenal Kyiv Yuriy BakalovResignsOctober 1014th Serhiy Zakarlyuka (caretaker)October 10Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Serhiy PuchkovSackedOctober 2815th Oleh TaranOctober 28Sevastopol Hennadiy Orbu SackedNovember 2711th Serhiy Konovalov (interim)November 27Tavriya Giannis Christopoulos SackedJanuary 914th Nikolay KostovJanuary 9Sevastopol Serhiy Konovalov (interim)Interim coachJanuary 1412th Angel ChervenkovJanuary 14Metalist Kharkiv Myron MarkevychResignedFebruary 242nd Ihor Rakhayev (interim)February 24Dynamo Kyiv Oleh BlokhinSackedApril 163rd Serhii Rebrov (interim)April 17
Notes: For the Round 14 match Metalist Kharkiv was managed by Ihor Rakhayev while manager Myron Markevych was hospitalized with trauma.
Qualification to European competitions for 2014–15 Since Ukraine finished in seventh place of the UEFA country ranking after the 2012–13 season, the league will have the same number of qualifiers for UEFA Europa League 2014–15. The Ukrainian Cup winner qualifies for the play-off round.
Qualified teams After the 24th Round, Shakhtar Donetsk qualified for European football for the 2014–15 season. During the 26th Round, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk qualified for European football for the 2014–15 season. During the 28th Round Shakhtar Donetsk qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League after defeating Illichivets. Metalist Kharkiv qualified for European football for the 2014–15 season after defeating FC Sevastopol in their postponed Round 20 match. Shakhtar Donetsk qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Group Stage during Round 29 after they defeated Zorya Luhansk. (C) After the 29th Round, Dynamo Kyiv qualified the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. After the 29th Round, Chornomorets Odesa qualified the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League 3rd qualifying round. Dynamo Kyiv, by winning the Ukrainian Cup, and with Sevilla (Spain) winning the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa Group stage. Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round after they defeated Metalurh Donetsk in Round 30. After that victory Metalist Kharkiv qualified the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League playoff round. Zorya Luhansk qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League 2nd qualifying round after Metalurh Donetsk was excluded from participating by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body due to failing to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
League table
Results
The following table displays match results between each team in the competition.
Positions by round The following table represents the teams' position after each round in the competition. The competition resumes with the spring stage with Round 21 due to the postponement of the competition due to the civil unrest in the country after the riots in Kyiv and continuing on with the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Originally scheduled Round 19 was played 15–17 April after Round 25 and Round 20 was played 23–24 April after Round 26.
Season statistics Top goalscorers
The top ten goalscorers were as follows:
RankScorerGoals(Pen.)Team 1 Luiz Adriano20 (1)Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Junior Moraes19 (4)Metalurh Donetsk3 Marko Devich15Metalist Kharkiv4 Matheus13Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Dieumerci Mbokani13Dynamo Kyiv Yevhen Seleznyov13 (1)Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk7 Yannick Boli12 (1)Zorya Luhansk Andriy Yarmolenko12 (2)Dynamo Kyiv9 Oleksandr Hladkyi10Karpaty Lviv Oleksiy Antonov10 (1)Chornomorets Odesa
Notes: Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan signed Marko Devich during the winter break.
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Maksym Feshchuk 30 August 2013 Marko Devich 29 September 2013 Facundo Ferreyra 5 October 2013 Júnior Moraes 29 November 2013 Matheus* 15 April 2014 Cleiton Xavier 11 May 2014
Notes: (*) Asterisk identifies players who scored four goals (poker).
Awards Monthly awards MonthUA-Football Player of the MonthPlayerNatClubLinkJulyMarko Devich Metalist Kharkiv3GAugustRoman Zozulya Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk2G 1ASeptemberMarko Devich Metalist Kharkiv5GOctoberYevhen Konoplyanka Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk1GNovemberAndriy Yarmolenko Dynamo Kyiv2GMarchMatheus Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk3G 1AAprilJúnior Moraes Metalurh Donetsk5GMayYevhen Konoplyanka Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk1G 1A
Season awards The laureates of the 2013–14 UPL season were: Best player: Yevhen Konoplyanka (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk) Best coach: Mircea Lucescu (Shakhtar Donetsk) Best goalkeeper: Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk) Best arbiter: Yuriy Mozharovsky (Lviv) Best young player: Serhiy Bolbat (Metalurh Donetsk) Best goalscorer: Luiz Adriano (Shakhtar Donetsk)
See also 2013–14 Ukrainian First League 2013–14 Ukrainian Premier League Reserves and Under 19 2013–14 Ukrainian Second League 2013–14 Ukrainian Cup 2013–14 UEFA Europa League 2013–14 UEFA Champions League
References