2017_Latvian_Higher_League
2017 Latvian Higher League
Football league season
The 2017 Latvian Higher League is the 26th season of top-tier football in Latvia. Spartaks Jūrmala are the defending champions, having won their first title in the previous season.
| Season | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10 March – 4 November 2017 |
| Champions | Spartaks Jūrmala |
| Champions League | Spartaks Jūrmala |
| Europa League | Liepāja Riga Ventspils |
| Matches played | 84 |
| Goals scored | 200 (2.38 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Yevgeni Kozlov (13) |
| Biggest home win | Ventspils 4–0 Spartaks Riga 4–0 METTA/LU |
| Biggest away win | Jelgava 0–3 Riga Spartaks 0–3 Ventspils METTA/LU 2–5 Liepāja |
| Highest scoring | METTA/LU 2–5 Liepāja |
← 2016 2018 → | |
The bottom-placed team from the 2016 season, BFC Daugavpils, were directly relegated to the 2017 Latvian First League. They were replaced by Babīte, champions of the 2016 Latvian First League.
The seventh-placed team from the 2016 season, FS METTA/LU, retained their top-flight spot for the 2017 season by defeating 2016 First League runners-up, AFA Olaine in the play-offs.
Babīte was removed from the league on 22 June 2017 after the Latvian Football Federation received a notice from UEFA's Betting Fraud Detection System for 6 separate games involving Babīte.[1] All the results for Babīte games were invalidated and do not count for the standings.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babīte | Piņķi | Piņķu stadions | 500 |
| Jelgava | Jelgava | Olympic Sports Center of Zemgale | 1,560 |
| Liepāja | Liepāja | Daugava Stadium | 5,008 |
| Metta/LU | Riga | Hanzas vidusskolas laukums | 2,000 |
| RFS | Riga | Stadions Arkādija | 1,000 |
| Riga | Riga | Skonto Stadium | 8,207 |
| Spartaks Jūrmala | Jūrmala | Slokas Stadium | 2,800 |
| Ventspils | Ventspils | Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions | 3,044 |
Source: Scoresway
Kits manufacturer and sponsors
| Club | Kit manufacturer | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| SK Babīte | Joma | |
| FK Jelgava | Nike | Igate |
| FK Liepāja | Adidas | Mogo |
| FS Metta/LU | Nike | |
| Riga FC | Jako | |
| Rīgas Futbola skola | Nike | LNK Group |
| FK Spartaks Jūrmala | Nike | Hanseatisches Fußball Kontor |
| FK Ventspils | Adidas | VK Tranzīts |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spartaks Jūrmala (C) | 24 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 46 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Liepāja | 24 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 37[lower-alpha 1] | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2] |
| 3 | Riga | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 37[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 4 | Ventspils | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 35[lower-alpha 3] | |
| 5 | RFS | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 29 | 31 | −2 | 35[lower-alpha 3] | |
| 6 | Jelgava | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 30 | −8 | 29 | |
| 7 | METTA/LU (O) | 24 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 46 | −25 | 15 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 8 | Babīte (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excluded from league[lower-alpha 4] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play ranking; 7) Play-off.[3][4]
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (O) Play-off winners
Notes:
- Liepāja qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2017 Latvian Football Cup.
Each team will play the other seven teams home-and-away twice, for a total of 28 games each.
|
Updated to match(es) played on 28 October 2017. Source: Virslīga (in Latvian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
The seventh-placed side faced the runners-up of the 2017 Latvian First League in a two-legged play-off, with the winner being awarded a spot in the 2018 Higher League competition.
| 16 November 2017 1st leg | Progress/AFA Olaine | 1–1 | METTA/LU | Olaine |
Asgarov  21' |
Report | Emsis 7' |
| 20 November 2017 2nd leg | METTA/LU | 3–1 (4–2 agg.) | Progress/AFA Olaine | Riga |
| Emsis 3' Fjodorovs 12', 32' |
Report | Asgarov 90' |
Stadium: Hanzas vidusskolas laukums |
Top scorers
- As of 4 November 2017[5]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yevgeni Kozlov |
Spartaks Jūrmala | 13 |
| 2 |  Artūrs Karašausks |
Liepāja | 12 |
| 3 |  Adeleke Akinyemi |
Ventspils | 10 |
| 4 | Tosin Aiyegun |
Ventspils | 9 |
| 5 |  Bogdan Vaštšuk |
Riga | 8 |
| 6 | Mārcis Ošs |
Jelgava | 7 |
| Daniils Ulimbaševs |
RFS | ||
| 8 | Kristaps Grebis |
Liepāja | 6 |
| Ģirts Karlsons |
Liepāja | ||
| Edgars Gauračs |
Spartaks Jūrmala | ||
- ""Babīte / Dynamo" excluded from the Higher League" (in Latvian). SportaCentrs. 22 June 2017.
- "SK Babīte/Dinamo tiek izslēgta no Virslīgas čempionāta" (in Latvian). LFF. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- "2017. GADA LATVIJAS VIRSLĪGAS FUTBOLA ČEMPIONĀTA REGLAMENTS" (PDF) (in Latvian). Latvian Football Federation. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- "Virslīga 2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- "Latvian First Division - Top scorers". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- Official website (in Latvian)