The 2009–10 Süper Lig (known as the Turkcell Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons) was the 52nd season since its establishment. The season commenced on 7 August 2009 with Istanbul B.B. hosting defending champions Beşiktaş at Atatürk Olympic Stadium. The last matches were played on 16 May 2010.
Bursaspor won the league beating defending champions Beşiktaş 2–1 at home.[1] They beat second placed Fenerbahçe by just one point after they could only manage a 1–1 home draw against Trabzonspor. It was only the seventh time a club outside the Istanbul Big Three have won the league, with Trabzonspor being the only other team with six championships, winning their last title in 1984.[2]
Promotion and relegation from 2008–09
Konyaspor, Kocaelispor and Hacettepe SK were relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the standings. Konyaspor had to face demotion after six years in the highest Turkish football league. Kocaelispor returned to the First League after just one year in the Süper Lig, while Hacettepe ended a two-year stint in the Turkish top flight.
The relegated teams were replaced by 2008–09 TFF First League champions Manisaspor, runners-up Diyarbakırspor and promotion play-off winners Kasımpaşa. Manisaspor and Kasımpaşa made an immediate return to the Süper Lig while Diyarbakırspor returned after a three-year hiatus.
Source: Süper Lig official website Rules for classification: 1st overall points, 2nd head-to-head points, 3rd head-to-head goal differential, 4th overall goal differential, 5th overall goals scored.[30] (C) Champions; (R) Relegated Notes:
^ abGalatasaray finished ahead of Beşiktaş on head-to-head record: Galatasaray–Beşiktaş 3–0, Beşiktaş–Galatasaray 1–1.
^Trabzonspor won the 2009–10 Turkish Cup and thus qualified for the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League.
^ abKasımpaşa finished ahead of Ankaragücü on head-to-head record: Kasımpaşa–Ankaragücü 2–0, Ankaragücü–Kasımpaşa 2–2.
^On 7 October 2009, the Turkish Football Federation relegated Ankaraspor to the TFF First League with immediate effect due to the relationship of its governors with those of Ankaragücü being unsuitable for two teams competing in the same division. All of Ankaraspor's matches were scratched and counted as a 3–0 win for their opponents.[29]
Source: [citation needed] Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. Notes:
^Bursaspor were awarded a 3–0 win after the match was abandoned in the 17th minute with the score level at 0–0 after Diyarbakırspor fans pelted Bursaspor players and officials with various objects.[31]