The 2017–18 Honduran Liga Nacional season was the 52nd Honduran Liga Nacional edition since its establishment in 1965. For this season, the system format remained the same as the previous season. The tournament started on 28 July 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. The season was divided into two halves (Apertura and Clausura), each crowning one champion. C.D. Marathón, as the team with the best record, qualified to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Real C.D. España and F.C. Motagua qualified to the 2018 CONCACAF League.
The Apertura tournament was the first half of the 2017–18 season which ran from July to December 2017. The first game of the season was played on 29 July between Club Deportivo Olimpia and new newcomers Lobos UPNFM which ended in a 1–0 victory for the home club.[9] This game in fact corresponds to week 4, however, Olimpia requested a reschedule as they faced Liga Deportiva Alajuelense on that same week for the 2017 CONCACAF League. On 18 August, la entire week 3 was cancelled due to a referee's strike, who requested for a salary increase which was rejected.[10] On 2 September, C.D. Honduras Progreso played against Lobos UPNFM at Estadio Humberto Micheletti, a game which was witnessed only by 56 spectators, one more over the current record implemented by Palestino F.C. v Pumas UNAH (55 in 1998). On 24 September, F.C. Motagua paid a visit to Platense F.C. at Estadio Excélsior; Motagua came with a long 21-game unbeaten run carried since last season; on the other hand, Platense were at the bottom of the league standings. Motagua scored 3 consecutive goals in the first 60 minutes of play to obtain a comfortable lead; however, in the last 20+ minutes of the match, Platense scored 4 goals to give the Selacios the most unlikely win of the season so far.[11] On 19 November, C.D. Marathón defeated Olimpia 0–1 and clinched the first position in the regular standings for their fifth time in history.[12] Three of the four playoff matches were rescheduled due to the 2017 Honduran political crisis. During the 1st leg of the semifinal between Real C.D. España and C.D. Marathón, referee Armando Castro gave Real España a non-existing penalty. Furious fans from the opposite side invaded the pitch and started throwing rocks to policemen and referees. Police answered with tear gas bombs and the authorities decided to suspend the match. The other semifinal between Olimpia and Motagua was also suspended due to lack of security guarantees. On 14 December, the League informed that without safety measures, they will not scheduled any other games until further notice.[13] On 18 December, due to the pressing situation, the League decided to play the rest of the tournament in closed doors, except for the final series. Real España obtained their 12th national title after beating Motagua in the final with a 3–2 global score.
The Clausura tournament was the second half of the 2017–18 season which ran from January to May 2018. The schedule was released on 9 December 2017. On 15 April, F.C. Motagua's winger Wilmer Crisanto scored the 20,000th goal in the history of the league. C.D. Marathón finished first in the regular season standings for their second tournament in a row. Just as the previous tournament; Marathón, Motagua, Club Deportivo Olimpia and Real C.D. España reached the semifinals round. On 5 May, Marathón qualified to their 18th final and their first one since 2014. One day later, Motagua eliminated Olimpia and qualified to their 4th consecutive final. It was the 4th time in the league's history that the final series was played between the contenders of the M's Derby. Marathón obtained their 9th national title and Motagua lost their second final in a row.
Relegation was determined by the aggregated table of both Apertura and Clausura tournaments. On 15 April 2018, C.D. Real Sociedad and Platense F.C. faced in the last round. Coincidentally, these were the only two clubs at this point involved with relegation risks. Platense won 0–1 at Estadio Francisco Martínez Durón and thus sending Real Sociedad to Liga de Ascenso.
In August 2017, former Real C.D. España player Javier Portillo sued the club due to a non-paid contract expiring in 2018. Portillo was sacked in October 2016 for unsporting conduct and passed over the agreement.[14] The National Football Arbitration Court (TNAF) determined that the club must comply with the contract and pay Portillo the sum of L.1,050,000.00 before the start of the Apertura tournament.[15] On 5 August 2017, Real España played their first game of the season defeating Platense F.C. at Estadio Francisco Morazán. A few hours prior, the club had issued a non-negotiable check payable to TNAF and not to Portillo as the verdict demanded. As a result, and according to the league's disciplinary codes,[16] these breaches are penalized with the deduction of points until the debt is condoned, or even relegation to a lower tier. On 10 August 2017, Fuad Abufele, president of Real España, threatened to withdraw from the league if any points are deducted.[17] A week later, Real España did finally issue the check payable to Portillo and the Appeal Commission decided not to deduct any points from Real España, thus contradicting their own regulations.[18] Real España, however, is willing to take the case further to FIFA.[19]
Due to a referee's strike who were demanding an increase in their salary, the entire week 3 in the Apertura tournament was suspended and had to be rescheduled.[20] The tournament was resumed on week 4 and due to the tight schedule, the pending games were played during a FIFA International Match Calendar.
Real C.D. España lost their fifth consecutive game in week 14 against last placed Platense F.C. Due to the poor results, president Fuad Abufele publicly threatened the players by revealing that their salary was partially frozen. Additionally, he stated that if the team doesn't react on time, their players might have bitter Christmas.[22]
During the elaboration of the Clausura schedule on 9 December 2017, both F.C. Motagua and Lobos UPNFM elected to move some of their home games to Estadio Emilio Williams Agasse in Choluteca, the further south stadium in Honduras. This wasn't seen with good eyes by northern clubs such as C.D.S. Vida and C.D. Real Sociedad claiming the distance they have to travel to get there.
During the Apertura postseason, Allan Pineda, director of the Regional Commission of Discipline, was strongly criticized by the media and specially by F.C. Motagua's foremen, due to his inconsistency when interpreting and enforcing the law. Right before the semifinals, the entity penalized Club Deportivo Olimpia's midfielder Alexander López for one game only due to his violent conduct and a straight red card in a playoff game against Lobos UPNFM. López complied and was eligible to play against Motagua in the semifinals. However, the controversy arose when back in November UPNFM's midfielder Mayron Flores was given two games of suspension for exactly the same actions during a regular season match, consequently missing action against Olimpia in the playoffs. Pineda is known for being an Olimpia's supporter.[23]
On 13 December 2017, Real C.D. España and C.D. Marathón were playing for the first leg of the Apertura semifinals. In the 71st minute, the referee Armando Castro called a non-existing penalty for Real España. Due to the controversial decision the Marathón's barra brava invaded the pitch and started trowing rocks at the referees and policemen. Real España's fans followed and tried to confront their rival's counterpart creating a chaos which ended up in the release of tear gas bombs. The game was suspended and was finally resumed eight days later on 21 December. The final 19 minutes of play were restarted with the penalty called one week prior in what was known as the longest match ever played in Honduras.
Prior the beginning of the Clausura tournament, five clubs (C.D. Honduras Progreso, C.D. Marathón, Platense F.C., C.D. Real Sociedad and C.D.S. Vida) which represents 50% of the league, declared themselves financially inoperative and unwilling to start the competition unless the league or the government provides them with at least L.4,000,000 to each team to help them heal some debts. Ironically, most of these clubs made notorious signings during the off-season. In the end, the league managed to obtain a loan for a fraction of the amount originally requested. Consequently, the entire schedule was postponed for one week.[24]
On week 4 of the Clausura tournament, Lobos UPNFM traveled to Tocoa to play against C.D. Real Sociedad. The visiting team claimed that the away locker rooms didn't meet the basic requirements for a professional competition. Coach Salomón Nazar complained that the dressing rooms didn't have water for his players to take showers after the match, having to do so outdoors with buckets.[25] In addition to that, the field itself presented evident deterioration due to the constant rainfall before and during the game. A great percentage of the field was covered in water and some sections even showed absence of grass, implying a great risk to the player's integrity. After a series of complains by the affected visiting teams and reporters, the owners of Estadio Francisco Martínez Durón banned the access to the media.[26]
On 10 March, F.C. Motagua's forward Román Castillo scored his 73rd goal with his club. Some media, statistic experts and historians claim that former player Ángel Obando scored 77 goals with Motagua between 1974 and 1986 and he has been the club's top-goalscorer for over 40 years. However, Motagua published on their social accounts their own list where Obando appears at the top of the list but with 73 goals only. If the club's numbers are correct, Castillo was now sharing the record along with Obando. The league was consulted by a local newspaper about the controversy to clarify this and to have an official version. Nevertheless, the league refused to publish their version unless the club inquires it in writing.[27]
In less than a week, Real C.D. España's executives were involved in two controversial discussions with their C.D. Marathón's and F.C. Motagua's counterparts. On week 14 of the Clausura tournament, Real España's forward Domingo Zalazar was roughly injured by Marathón's defender Bryan Johnson. Real España accused Marathón players for their supposedly deliberately actions to harm their rivals. Ronlin Peña, the sport manager of Marathón, called Real España's front-men short minded. Some Real España fans even showed up to Marathón's headquarters threatening Johnson. That same week, during the Honduran Superclásico between Motagua and Club Deportivo Olimpia, a riot occurred outside the stadium resulting in one dead, several injured and more detained.[28] Real España's president Elías Burbara posted on his Twitter account that he hoped for a punishment to the Tegucigalpa's clubs like the one they received last season for similar incidents. Motagua's president Pedro Atala replied saying that they usually never interfere into other's business and don't wish harm to their competitors.[29]
