The 2013–14 Oman Professional League (known as the Omantel Professional League for sponsorship reasons) is the 38th edition of the top football league in Oman. The Oman Football League got the seal of approval of a professional league on 1 September 2013 and will henceforth be called the Omantel Professional League (OPL). The season began on 13 September 2013, and concluded on 16 May 2014. Al-Suwaiq Club were the defending champions, having won their third title in the previous 2012–13 Elite League season. On Sunday, 28 April 2014, Al-Nahda Club were crowned the champions of the inaugural Oman Professional League with one game remaining after Al-Suwaiq Club edged out ten-man Fanja SC 5-3. Fanja SC needed a draw or a win on Sunday to prolong the fight for the OPL title, after Al-Nahda Club defeated Saham SC 4-3 to take their tally to 51 points, but its defeat dashed any hopes for the eight-time winners to match the record of nine titles, held by Dhofar S.C.S.C. in the 37-year-old history of Oman's top flight competition.
Teams This season the league had 14 teams. Oman Club and Salalah SC were relegated to the First Division League after finishing in the relegation zone in the 2012–13 season. Al-Tali'aa SC were also relegated after losing the relegation/promotion playoff against Sohar SC. The three relegated teams were replaced by First Division League winners Al-Ittihad Club, runner-up Majees SC and second runner-up Sohar SC (Won the Relegation/Promotion playoff against Al-Tali'aa SC).
The winner and the runner-up will qualify for the 2015 AFC Cup
Stadia and locations
Club Home city Manager Stadium Capacity Al-Ittihad Salalah Younis Amaan (Nov 2013–) Al-Saada Stadium / Salalah Sports Complex 12,000 / 8,000 Al-Musannah Al-Musannah Suhail Al-Rushaidi Seeb Stadium 14,000 Al-Nahda Al-Buraimi Hamad Al-Azani (May 2012–) Nizwa Sports Complex 10,000 Al-Nasr Salalah Akram Ahmad Salman (Feb 2014–) Al-Saada Stadium / Salalah Sports Complex 12,000 / 8,000 Al-Oruba Sur Aristică Cioabă Sur Sports Complex 8,000 Al-Seeb Seeb Youssef Al-Rafaly (Feb 2014–) Seeb Stadium 14,000 Al-Shabab Barka Mubarak Al-Gheilani (Feb 2014–) Seeb Stadium 14,000 Al-Suwaiq Al-Suwaiq Musabah Al-Saadi Seeb Stadium 14,000 Dhofar Salalah Dragan Talajić (Jun 2013–) Al-Saada Stadium / Salalah Sports Complex 12,000 / 8,000 Fanja Fanja Guglielmo Arena (April 2014) Seeb Stadium 14,000 Majees Majees Mohammed Al-Saadi (Jan 2014–) Sohar Regional Sports Complex 19,000 Saham Saham Abderrazak Khairi (Feb 2014–) Sohar Regional Sports Complex 19,000 Sohar Sohar Adnan Al-Shuaibat (Feb 2014–) Sohar Regional Sports Complex 19,000 Sur Sur Driss El Mrabet (Mar 2014–) Sur Sports Complex 8,000
Managerial changes Managerial changes during the 2013–14 campaign.
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by Al-Ittihad Noureddine Abu Falgha Sacked Younis Amaan Al-Nasr Moscofetch Nebosha Sacked Mohammed Al-Balushi Al-Nasr Mohammed Al-Balushi Caretaker role finished Akram Ahmad Salman Al-Oruba Omar Mazian Released Aristică Cioabă Al-Seeb Petre Gigiu Mutual Consent Ralf Borges Ferreira Al-Seeb Ralf Borges Ferreira Mutual Consent Youssef Al-Rafaly Al-Shabab Driss El Mrabet Sacked Mubarak Al-Gheilani Fanja Hicham Jadrane Resigned Mohsin Al-Kharusi Fanja Mohsin Al-Kharusi Caretaker role finished Guglielmo Arena Mjees Senad Kreso Sacked Mohammed Al-Saadi Saham Aristică Cioabă Resigned Ahmed Abdel-Qader Saham Ahmed Abdel-Qader Mutual Consent Abderrazak Khairi Sohar Abderrazak Khairi Resigned Mohammed Khasib Al-Muqbali Sohar Mohammed Khasib Al-Muqbali Caretaker role finished Adnan Al-Shuaibat Sur Ashraf Kasem Released Petre Gigiu Sur Petre Gigiu Sacked Driss El Mrabet
Foreign players Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field during each game including at least one player from the AFC country.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player Former Players Al-Ittihad TBD TBD TBD TBD Sarra Camara Al-Musannah João Luiz de Sá Miranda Márcio José Francis Koné Rabea Jumaa Youness Ouganna Al-Nahda Mouhamed Ablaye Gaye Juma Saeed Abdessamad Ouhakki Jamal Rashid Paulo Roberto Morais Júnior Al-Nasr Đorđe Vukobrat Youssef Chakir Mohamed Asaad Mahmoud Al-Youssef Al-Oruba Rafael Barbosa do Nascimento Deumaga Tchangou Ajuzie Kelechi Martins Dilmurat Batur Esme Mends Ahmed Salama Mohammed Fawzi Al-Seeb TBD TBD Habib Al-Dahmani Khaled Al-Brijawi Edgar Marcelino Al-Shabab TBD Youness Ouganna Lawrence Doe Ahmed Hatamleh Luomar Al-Suwaiq Séïdath Tchomogo Nadeem Karim Belal Abduldaim Oday Jafal Tarik El Taib Dhofar Sarra Camara Moustapha Moctar Jamal Mohammed Mosab Balhous Godwin Attram Fanja Felipe Lohmann Ely Cissé Mo'ayyad Abu Keshek Khaled Saad Majees Baba Issaka Abiodun Dayo Yassine Amlil Saif Abdel Hamza Saham Patrick da Silva Vinícius da Silva Salles Diakite Brahima Mohamed Al-Zeno Sadick Adams Sohar Adis Culov Ekrem Hodžić Mardik Mardikian Hazem Jawdat Sur TBD TBD TBD TBD
League table
Results
Clubs season-progress
Promotion/relegation play-off 1st leg
2nd leg
Al-Nasr secured promotion after winning 3-0 on aggregate
Season statistics
Top scorers RankScorerClubGoals1 Jumaa SaeedAl-Nahda16 Mohammed Al-GhassaniAl-Suwaiq3 Mouhamed Ablaye GayeAl-Nahda134 Mardik MardikianSohar11 Saud Al-FarsiSur6 Sarra CamaraDhofar10 Younis Al-MushaifriAl-Shabab Ely CisséFanja7 Abdulaziz Al-NoufaliAl-Seeb9 Mohamed Al-ZenoSaham
Top Omani Scorers RankScorerClubGoals1 Mohammed Al-GhassaniAl-Suwaiq162 Saud Al-FarsiSur113 Younis Al-MushaifriAl-Shabab104 Abdulaziz Al-NoufaliAl-Seeb95 Said Al-RuzaiqiAl-Oruba SC86 Waleed Al-SaadiAl-Musannah7 Mohsin JoharSaham Abdulaziz Al-MuqbaliFanja Tariq Al-ThehliMajees10 Mutassim Al-ShibliSohar6 Raed Ibrahim SalehFanja Hamoud Al-SaadiDhofar Al-Abd Al-NoufaliAl-Suwaiq
Hat-tricks PlayerClubAgainstResultDate Saud Al-Farsi 4—1 29 March 2014 Jumaa Saeed 3—1 29 March 2014 Said Al-Ruzaiqi 3—0 29 March 2014 Abdul Aziz Al-Noufali * 8—1 17 April 2014 Salim Al-Shamsi 6—2 16 May 2014 * Player scored 4 goals
OFA Awards Oman Football Association awarded the following awards for the 2013–14 Oman Professional League season. Top Scorer: Juma Saeed (Al-Nahda) Best Player: Juma Saeed (Al-Nahda) Best Goalkeeper: Faiz Al-Rushaidi (Al-Suwaiq) Best Coach: Hamad Al-Azani (Al-Nahda)
Media coverage Omantel Professional League Media Coverage Country Television Channel MatchesOman Sports TV 4 Matches per round
Controversies The league was the subject of controversies like the wearing of similar-coloured jerseys, unusual hairstyles and excessive goal celebrations.
On 20 September 2013, the match between Sur SC and Majees SC was called off by referee Fahad Al-Subahi on the premise that the teams were wearing similar-coloured jerseys'. But just three days later, the Oman Professional League's Disciplinary Committee decided to replay the match and ruled that Subahi had erred in his judgement. The match was replayed on 12 November 2013 which Sur SC won 2-1.
The Oman Football Association came out with a new code of conduct for players after a controversy in the aftermath of a football match between Fanja SC and Al-Nahda Club. According to the new regulations, OFA prohibits players from extreme celebrations on the field after scoring a goal and the governing body also bans players sporting unusual hairstyles or even colouring their hair. As a result, excessive goal celebrations and unusual hairstyles have been shown the red card by the OFA as it moves to protect the 'ethics' of the game. The decision came after Al-Nahda Club's Ivorian player Juma Saeed was seen 'inappropriately' celebrating on the field after scoring a goal against Fanja SC on 29 March 2014 that raised heated debates among the football aficionados in the country. However, the Ivory Coast player was reprimanded with a warning. OFA also decided to make the OPL's Disciplinary Committee an autonomous body with additional powers. Headed by the OFA board member Hamad Al-Hadrami, the Disciplinary Committee can now take action against players violating the new code of conduct. OFA also gave powers to the match referees who will now inspect the dressing room before any domestic games to ensure the players adhere to the code of conduct.
See also
2013–14 Sultan Qaboos Cup 2013–14 Oman Professional League Cup 2013–14 Oman Super Cup 2013–14 Oman First Division League 2013–14 Oman Second Division League
References