2016–17 Maltese Premier League

Maltese Premier League
Season2016–17
Dates19 August 2016 – 6 May 2017
ChampionsHibernians
(12th title)
RelegatedPembroke Athleta
Champions LeagueHibernians
Europa LeagueBalzan
Valletta
Floriana
Matches played198
Goals scored570 (2.88 per match)
Top goalscorerBojan Kaljević
(23 goals)[1]
Biggest home winTarxien Rainbows 7–1 Pembroke Athleta
(22 January 2017)[2]
Balzan 7–1 Mosta
(24 February 2017)[3]
St. Andrews 6–0 Pembroke Athleta
(9 April 2017)[4]
Biggest away winGżira United 1–7 Birkirkara
(22 October 2016)[5]
Highest scoringGżira United 1–7 Birkirkara
(22 October 2016)[5]
Tarxien Rainbows 7–1 Pembroke Athleta
(22 January 2017)[2]
Balzan 7–1 Mosta
(24 February 2017)[3]

The 2016–17 Maltese Premier League was the 102nd season of the Maltese Premier League. The season began on 19 August 2016 and concluded on 6 May 2017; the relegation play-off took place on 12 May 2017. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 23rd title the previous season.

On 30 April 2017, Hibernians defeated St. Andrews 3–1 to clinch their 12th Maltese league title.[6]

Format

For this season, in a change from recent previous seasons, points earned in the first 22 matches were no longer halved. Each team therefore played 33 matches, home-and-away against each other team (22 matches), and then one more match (either home or away) against each other team.

Venues

 Ta' Qali Ta' Qali Paola Hamrun
Ta' Qali National Stadium Centenary Stadium Tony Bezzina Stadium Victor Tedesco Stadium
Capacity: 16,997 Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 2,968 Capacity: 1,962

Teams and stadiums

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Locations of the 2016–17 Maltese Premier League teams

Naxxar Lions and Qormi were relegated to the 2016–17 Maltese First Division after they finished eleventh and twelfth, respectively, the previous season. They were replaced by Gżira United and Ħamrun Spartans, champions and runners-up respectively of the 2015–16 Maltese First Division.

Team City Stadium Capacity
Balzan Balzan Victor Tedesco Stadium 6,000
Birkirkara Birkirkara Ta' Qali National Stadium 17,797
Floriana Floriana Independence Arena 3,000
Gżira United Gżira Ta' Qali National Stadium 17,797
Ħamrun Spartans Ħamrun Victor Tedesco Stadium 6,000
Hibernians Paola Hibernians Ground 2,968
Mosta Mosta Charles Abela Memorial Stadium 600
Pembroke Athleta Pembroke Sirens Stadium 1,500
Sliema Wanderers Sliema Tigne Sports Complex 1,000
St. Andrews St. Andrew's Luxol Sports Ground 800
Tarxien Rainbows Tarxien Tony Cassar Sports Ground 1,000
Valletta Valletta Centenary Stadium 2,000

Source: Scoresway

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Hibernians (C) 33 22 5 6 64 31 +33 71 Qualification for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League
2 Balzan 33 19 7 7 66 40 +26 64 Qualification for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League
3 Birkirkara[a] 33 18 8 7 64 30 +34 62
4 Valletta 33 16 11 6 51 29 +22 59 Qualification for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League
5 Floriana[b] 33 15 9 9 51 37 +14 54
6 Sliema Wanderers 33 15 7 11 47 37 +10 52
7 Gżira United 33 10 7 16 43 51 −8 37
8 St. Andrews 33 9 10 14 45 51 −6 37
9 Tarxien Rainbows 33 8 11 14 38 48 −10 35
10 Hamrun Spartans 33 9 6 18 44 61 −17 33
11 Mosta[c] (O) 33 7 5 21 29 71 −42 21 Qualification for the Relegation Play-Offs
12 Pembroke Athleta (R) 33 4 6 23 28 84 −56 18 Relegation to the 2017–18 Maltese First Division
Source: Malta Football Association, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[9]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Birkirkara would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[7]
  2. ^ Floriana qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League by winning the 2016–17 Maltese FA Trophy.
  3. ^ Mosta were deducted five points for making illegal payments to a player registered as an amateur.[8]

Results

Matches 1–22

Home \ Away BAL BIR FLO GŻI ĦAM HIB MOS PEM SLI STA TAR VAL
Balzan — 1–1 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–2 4–0 1–2 3–0 2–2 2–2
Birkirkara 3–0 — 1–2 2–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 4–0 3–1 0–1
Floriana 0–1 1–1 — 1–0 5–1 0–0 4–0 2–1 1–3 4–1 1–1 2–0
Gżira United 1–2 1–7 4–3 — 0–2 0–3 3–0 3–0 1–0 3–2 1–1 1–3
Ħamrun Spartans 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 — 1–4 3–0 2–1 0–3 3–1 2–3 0–3
Hibernians 0–2 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–3 — 3–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–0
Mosta 0–1 0–2 0–1 2–1 2–5 0–2 — 0–3 2–1 1–0 0–2 0–1
Pembroke Athleta 1–2 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–2 0–3[a] — 0–1 2–2 2–2 0–3
Sliema Wanderers 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 — 1–1 2–1 1–2
St. Andrews 0–1 1–1 1–3 1–0 3–1 1–2 1–1 4–1 3–0 — 1–0 0–0
Tarxien Rainbows 2–2 0–4 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 7–1 1–0 1–1 — 1–1
Valletta 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–2 0–0 5–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 —
Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
  1. ^ Match awarded 3–0 to Mosta after a successful protest; original result was Pembroke Athleta 5–0 Mosta.[10]

Matches 23–33

Home \ Away BAL BIR FLO GŻI ĦAM HIB MOS PEM SLI STA TAR VAL
Balzan — — — 3–1 1–1 — 7–1 — — 2–1 — 0–1
Birkirkara 3–1 — — — 3–0 2–0 3–0 — — 2–2 — —
Floriana 0–2 1–2 — 1–1 — 2–3 — 2–0 — — — 1–1
Gżira United — 1–1 — — — — — 5–1 0–1 — 1–0 1–1
Ħamrun Spartans — — 1–2 1–3 — — — 1–2 0–2 1–1 — 2–1
Hibernians 3–1 — — 2–0 3–3 — 4–0 — — 3–1 — —
Mosta — — 0–2 1–4 2–1 — — 4–2 — 1–2 — 0–4
Pembroke Athleta 2–5 0–2 — — — 0–3 — — 0–2 — 1–1 —
Sliema Wanderers 2–1 1–1 3–0 — — 1–2 1–1 — — — 1–1 —
St. Andrews — — 0–0 2–3 — — — 6–0 1–4 — 1–0 3–1
Tarxien Rainbows 0–3 0–1 0–1 — 1–1 1–6 1–3 — — — — —
Valletta — 3–3 — — — 1–0 — 4–0 3–1 — 0–2 —
Source: Malta Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

A play-off match took place between the eleventh-placed team from the Premier League, Mosta, and the fourth-placed team from the First Division, Qormi, for a place in the 2017–18 Maltese Premier League. Mosta retained their spot in the Maltese Premier League, while Qormi remained in the Maltese First Division.

Mosta3–1Qormi
Triganza 56'
Pedrinho 58'
Priso 82'		 Report Medic 6'
Referee: Alan Mario Sant

Top scorers

As of matches played on 5 May 2017
Rank Player Club Goals[1]
1 Montenegro Bojan Kaljević Balzan 23
2 Malta Jurgen Degabriele Hibernians 16
3 Italy Mario Fontanella Floriana 14
4 Slovenia Vito Plut Birkirkara 13
5 Malta Jake Grech Ħamrun Spartans 12
6 Serbia Srđan Dimitrov Ħamrun Spartans 11
Sweden Alexander Nilsson Tarxien Rainbows
Malta Jean Paul Farrugia Sliema Wanderers
9 Brazil Jorginho Hibernians 10

References

  1. ^ a b "Top Scorers". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Tarxien Rainbows vs. Pembroke Athleta". Malta Football Association. 22 January 2017. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Balzan vs. Mosta". Malta Football Association. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  4. ^ "St. Andrews vs. Pembroke Athleta". Malta Football Association. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Gżira United vs. Birkirkara". Malta Football Association. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Hibs beat Saints to kick off title celebrations". Malta Football Association. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Birkirkara FC UEFA licence appeal turned down". Malta Football Association. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Mosta FC appeal not upheld". Malta Football Association. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Premier League 2016/2017 - Rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Mosta FC protest upheld by MFA Protests Board". Malta Football Association. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.