2017–18 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Premijer liga
Season2017–18
Dates22 July 2017 – 20 May 2018
ChampionsZrinjski
6th Premier League title
6th Bosnian title
RelegatedBorac
Vitez
Champions LeagueZrinjski
Europa LeagueŽeljezničar
Sarajevo
Široki Brijeg
Matches played108
Goals scored260 (2.41 per match)
Top goalscorerMiloš Filipović (16 goals)

The 2017–18 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina (known as BH Telecom Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the eighteenth season of the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the highest football league of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The season began on 22 July 2017 and concluded on 20 May 2018, with a winter break between early December 2017 and late February 2018.

Teams

A total of 12 teams contested the league, including 10 sides from the 2016–17 season and two promoted from each of the second-level league.

Stadiums and locations

Borac Čelik Gabela Krupa
Banja Luka City Stadium Bilino Polje Perica-Pero Pavlović Krupa na Vrbasu
Capacity: 9,730 Capacity: 15,292 Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 3,500
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Mladost
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Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs
 Radnik
Stadium Mladost Kakanj Gradski Stadium (Bijeljina)
Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 6,000
Sarajevo Sloboda
Asim Ferhatović Hase Tušanj
Capacity: 35,630 Capacity: 7,200
Široki Brijeg Vitez Zrinjski Željezničar
Pecara Gradski Stadium (Vitez) HŠK Zrinjski Stadium Grbavica
Capacity: 7,000 Capacity: 3,000 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 14,000

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Borac Bosnia and Herzegovina Darko Vojvodić Bosnia and Herzegovina Mahir Karić Diadora Nova Banka
Čelik Bosnia and Herzegovina Edin Prljača Bosnia and Herzegovina Fenan Salčinović Givova Wwin
GOŠK Bosnia and Herzegovina Feđa Dudić - no.1 —
Krupa Bosnia and Herzegovina Slobodan Starčević Serbia Aleksandar Vukotić NAAI BEMA
Mladost Doboj Kakanj Bosnia and Herzegovina Edis Mulalić Bosnia and Herzegovina Aladin Isaković Joma Kakanj Cement
Radnik Bosnia and Herzegovina Mladen Žižović Bosnia and Herzegovina Dino Beširević Joma Nektar
Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Husref Musemić North Macedonia Krste Velkoski Nike Turkish Airlines
Sloboda Serbia Slavko Petrović Bosnia and Herzegovina Amer Ordagić NAAI Wwin
Široki Brijeg Croatia Goran Sablić Bosnia and Herzegovina Jure Ivanković Legea Mepas
Vitez Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivica Bonić Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Livaja Joma tioil
Zrinjski Bosnia and Herzegovina Blaž Slišković Bosnia and Herzegovina Pero Stojkić Macron PPD
Željezničar Bosnia and Herzegovina Admir Adžem Bosnia and Herzegovina Vedran Kjosevski Diadora Ziraat Bank

Regular season

The season has a two-stage format. In the regular season, each of the 12 teams play home-and-away once, resulting in 22 games played each. The top six teams in the regular season qualify for the Championship round, the bottom six teams qualify for the Relegation round. Each team then plays home-and-away against the other teams within their own group, for an additional ten games played each, a season total of 32 games.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Zrinjski Mostar 22 16 2 4 40 18 +22 50 Qualification for the Championship round
2 Željezničar Sarajevo 22 16 2 4 37 16 +21 50
3 Široki Brijeg 22 13 3 6 37 17 +20 42
4 Sarajevo 22 12 4 6 44 19 +25 40
5 Krupa 22 9 8 5 29 23 +6 35
6 Radnik Bijeljina 22 9 5 8 21 24 −3 32
7 Mladost Doboj Kakanj 22 7 8 7 29 28 +1 29 Qualification for the Relegation round
8 Borac Banja Luka 22 7 5 10 14 22 −8 26
9 GOŠK Gabela 22 7 3 12 22 30 −8 24
10 Sloboda Tuzla 22 5 6 11 18 25 −7 21
11 Čelik Zenica 22 4 1 17 17 54 −37 13
12 Vitez 22 1 5 16 9 41 −32 8
Source: Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Soccerway, UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals (only if two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Goal difference; 9) Play-off. (Criteria 2 and 3 are not used to decide champion, UEFA competition qualification, or relegation)[1]

Results

Home \ Away BOR ČEL GAB KRU MDK RAD SAR ŠB SLO VIT ŽEL ZRI
Borac Banja Luka — 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1
Čelik Zenica 1–0 — 2–0 0–2 0–3 3–0 0–2 1–4 2–2 1–0 0–3 1–3
GOŠK Gabela 0–1 3–2 — 0–1 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 0–1 0–2
Krupa 2–0 1–0 1–1 — 3–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 0–0 3–0 2–4 1–0
Mladost Doboj Kakanj 2–1 4–0 1–1 1–1 — 3–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–2
Radnik Bijeljina 3–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 0–0 — 1–4 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–2 2–1
Sarajevo 3–0 5–0 0–1 2–3 4–2 0–0 — 2–0 0–0 4–0 0–1 1–2
Široki Brijeg 2–0 4–0 3–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–1 — 2–0 1–0 1–2 2–1
Sloboda Tuzla 1–1 3–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 0–1 1–3 0–3 — 4–0 1–0 0–2
Vitez 0–0 2–0 0–3 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–3 1–4 0–1 — 1–1 2–3
Željezničar Sarajevo 2–1 3–1 3–1 4–1 2–0 3–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 — 0–1
Zrinjski Mostar 0–0 5–2 3–2 1–0 2–0 3–0 1–3 1–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 —
Source: Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Championship round

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Zrinjski Mostar (C) 32 21 6 5 58 30 +28 69 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Željezničar Sarajevo 32 19 6 7 49 30 +19 63 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Sarajevo 32 17 5 10 58 28 +30 56
4 Široki Brijeg 32 16 8 8 52 28 +24 56
5 Radnik Bijeljina 32 12 9 11 35 38 −3 45
6 Krupa 32 10 10 12 35 42 −7 40
Source: Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals (only if two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Goal difference; 9) Play-off. (Criteria 2 and 3 are not used to decide champion, UEFA competition qualification, or relegation)[2]
(C) Champions

Results

Home \ Away KRU RAD SAR SB ZRI ŽEL
Krupa — 1–3 2–3 0–0 0–1 2–0
Radnik Bijeljina 1–1 — 1–0 3–3 1–2 1–0
Sarajevo 1–0 3–1 — 2–0 4–1 0–0
Široki Brijeg 5–0 1–1 1–0 — 0–0 3–1
Zrinjski Mostar 4–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 — 3–3
Željezničar Sarajevo 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 —
Source: Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Relegation round

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
7 GOŠK Gabela 32 13 6 13 32 36 −4 45
8 Mladost Doboj Kakanj 32 11 9 12 42 44 −2 42
9 Borac Banja Luka (R) 32 10 8 14 22 31 −9 38 Relegation to the Prva Liga RS
10 Sloboda Tuzla 32 9 9 14 31 34 −3 36
11 Čelik Zenica 32 8 4 20 30 61 −31 28
12 Vitez (R) 32 3 6 23 15 57 −42 15 Relegation to the Prva Liga FBiH
Source: Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals (only if two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Goal difference; 9) Play-off. (Criteria 2 and 3 are not used to decide champion, UEFA competition qualification, or relegation)[3]
(R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away BOR ČEL GAB MDK SLO VIT
Borac Banja Luka — 0–0 0–0 4–2 2–0 1–0
Čelik Zenica 1–1 — 2–0 2–1 0–2 0–1
GOŠK Gabela 1–0 1–0 — 1–0 0–0 1–1
Mladost Doboj Kakanj 2–0 0–3 1–2 — 1–1 1–0
Sloboda Tuzla 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–3 — 2–0
Vitez 2–0 0–4 1–2 1–2 0–3 —
Source: Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Licensing issues

All clubs in Bosnia and Herzegovina must have a license to compete in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the deadline this season being set May 7 for the First Degree commission. Five clubs did not get their licences for the first degree: Borac Banja Luka, Sloboda Tuzla, Čelik Zenica, Vitez and GOŠK Gabela.[4] The Second Degree commission convened on May 24 and only approved Čelik before being abruptly cancelled and rescheduled for May 30.[5] The commission approved all other clubs except for Borac, meaning that they would be relegated into the First League of the Republika Srpska. As Borac did not have the license but Čelik did, they were allowed to stay in the Premier League.[6]

Borac attempted to solve the issues which caused the license removal, including removing the debt Borac owed to FK Džaja. Borac showed the evidence it showed regarding the payments to Džaja to UEFA, which will assist the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the decision of whether or not Borac Banja Luka or Čelik Zenica will compete in the 2018–19 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7] The debate over the licences also caused the draws for the next season to be rescheduled.[8]

In a similar way, teams promoted from the First League of the Republika Srpska or First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina also need to get a license separated into First and Second Degree commissions, although their deadlines are moved to a later date. The winners of both leagues FK Sloga Simin Han (later known as Tuzla City) and FK Zvijezda 09 met with the First Degree commission on June 14, but only Sloga received their license. Zvijezda 09 will convene at a later date with the Second Degree commission.

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Serbia Miloš Filipović Zrinjski 16
2 Bosnia and Herzegovina Mersudin Ahmetović Sarajevo 14
3 Bosnia and Herzegovina Nemanja Bilbija Zrinjski 12
Bosnia and Herzegovina Petar Kunić Borac
Bosnia and Herzegovina Luka Menalo Široki Brijeg
North Macedonia Krste Velkoski Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina Goran Zakarić Željezničar
8 Croatia Dražen Bagarić Široki Brijeg 7
Bosnia and Herzegovina Haris Dilaver Mladost Doboj Kakanj
Bosnia and Herzegovina Nusmir Fajić Krupa
Bosnia and Herzegovina Haris Handžić Zrinjski
Bosnia and Herzegovina Nardin Mulahusejnović GOŠK Gabela
Bosnia and Herzegovina Stevo Nikolić Čelik
Serbia Vojo Ubiparip Željezničar

References

  1. ^ "Premijer Liga 2017/2018 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Premier Liga 2016/2017 – Season Rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Premier Liga 2016/2017 – Season Rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Pet klubova nije dobilo licencu za igranje Premijer lige BiH naredne sezone". Klix.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Prekinuta sjednica Drugostepene komisije za licenciranje". SportSport.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Čelik ostaje u Premijer ligi prema pravilniku za licenciranje". SportSport.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  7. ^ ""Ko je ovo dopustio Borcu? Nelogično je, nadam se da će UEFA donijeti pravu odluku"". SportSport.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  8. ^ Radenović, Vedran. "Zvijezda 09 bez licence za Bh. Telecom Premijer ligu". Nezavisne novine (in Serbian). Retrieved 19 June 2018.