2022–23_Belgian_Pro_League

2022–23 Belgian Pro League

2022–23 Belgian Pro League

120th season of top-tier football in Belgium

The 2022–23 Belgian Pro League (officially known as the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 120th season of top-tier football in Belgium. Royal Antwerp were crowned league champions for the first time in 66 years after pipping Genk and Union St-Gilloise on the final day,[1][2] the first occasion since 1999 that three clubs were still contending the title going in the final match. All three Championship chasers were in the virtual lead in the table at different stages across the final five minutes before Toby Alderweireld's title-clinching goal.[3]

Quick Facts Season, Dates ...

Genk's title-challenge was helped by a record-breaking 24 assists from Mike Trésor while Hugo Cuypers of Gent became the first Belgian winner of the Golden Bull for top scorer since Romelu Lukaku in 2009–10.[4][5][6]

Zulte Waregem, pipped for the title on the final day ten years earlier and subsequent Cup winners in 2017, were one of three sides relegated.

Format change

At the end of the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A, it was decided to exceptionally cancel any relegations as a result of the league being stopped early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This caused the league to temporarily expand to 18 as promotions from a lower league did occur as originally planned. It was decided at that point that the goal was to eventually return to 16 teams, and at the end of the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A, the clubs agreed that the 2022–23 season will reduce the number of clubs at the highest level again to 16, as this season only three teams will face direct relegation instead of just one. Furthermore, a new format was also decided from 2023–24 onwards (with 16 teams), returning to a slightly altered version of the playoff structure used prior to the 2019–20 season, but most importantly also increasing the teams relegating each season from 1 to 2 direct plus an additional optional third team through a playoff.[7] A minor change was the renaming of the top two leagues, with the First Division A and First Division B now renamed Jupiler Pro League and Challenger Pro League respectively.

Teams

Eighteen teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and 2021–22 Belgian First Division B champions Westerlo who returned after spending five seasons at the second tier following their relegation at the end of the 2016–17 season. They replaced Beerschot who had finished last by a very large margin and were relegated after two seasons at the highest level. No other changes happened as Seraing (who finished 17th) won the Relegation play-off against RWDM, and thus stayed in the top division.

Relegations

With three clubs being relegated, there was a major turnover in coaches with most clubs changing coach during the season. Out of the 18 Pro League sides, only seven kept the same coach from the opening day to the last. Seraing became the first club to be relegated, following a 2–0 away loss to Club Brugge on 7 April 2023. One week later, on 15 April 2023, Oostende also dropped as they went down 0–4 at home to OH Leuven. Yet another week later, on the final matchday of the regular season, Zulte Waregem became the third and final team relegated following a 2–3 home loss to Cercle Brugge.

Stadiums and locations

Locations of the 2022–23 Belgian Pro League teams
More information Matricule, Club ...

Number of teams by provinces

More information Number of teams, Province or region ...

Personnel and kits

More information Club, Manager ...

Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...

Regular season

League table

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[46]
(C) Play-off I winner; (J) Regular season winner; (R) Relegated; (U) Play-off II winner
Notes:
  1. The regular season winners will qualify for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not qualify for the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League in the playoffs.[citation needed]

Results

More information Home \ Away, GNK ...
Source: Kalender eerste klasse A 2022-23
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. Match stopped at 3–1 in the second half due to Anderlecht supporters throwing pyrotechnics on the pitch. Standard was awarded a 5–0 forfeit win, but both clubs were penalized for taking insufficient measures to prevent the event. Anderlecht were fined €10.000, forced to play two home matches without supporters, and given two provisional home matches without supporters. Standard were fined €10.000 and given one provisional home match without supporters.
  2. Match stopped at 1–0 in the second half due to Charleroi supporters throwing pyrotechnics on the pitch. Eleven days after the match, on 23 November 2022, Charleroi was penalized with a fine of €75.000 and three matches behind closed doors, and all media reported that the match would be overturned to a 0–5 forfeit loss to Charleroi. Four months later, on 17 March 2023, the disciplinary commission decided that the match has to be replayed (in full) behind closed doors, as referee Jan Boterberg made procedural errors in filing his report.[47] After an appeal at the Belgian Court For Sports Arbitrage by several impacted clubs, the final ruling was made on 11 April 2023, and Charleroi was given a 0–5 forfeit loss.
  3. Match postponed from 20 January 2023 to 1 February 2023 due to snowfall.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after the completion of each round.

More information Team ╲ Round, Genk ...
Source: worldfootball.net

Play-offs

Play-off I

Points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up in the event of half-points) before the start of the playoff. Genk and Union SG, therefore, started on 38 points, Antwerp on 36, and Club Brugge on 30. Only Antwerp did not see their points rounded up, hence in case of ties they were always ranked above the other teams. Any other ties were broken by regular season finishing order (Genk, then Union SG, then Club Brugge).

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[48]
(C) Champions; (K) Regular season winner
Notes:
  1. Tied on Points and Points without half points added due to rounding. Regular Season finishing position: Genk 1, Union SG 2.

Play-off II

Points obtained during the regular season will be halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Gent and Standard started on 28 points, Westerlo on 26, and Cercle Brugge on 25. As the points of Standard and Westerlo were rounded up, in case of ties they would always be ranked below the team (or teams) they are tied with. The deciding factor after that would be finishing position in the regular season.

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[49]
(F) Play-off II winner; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:
  1. Tied on Points and Points without half points added due to rounding. Regular Season finishing position: Standard Liège 6 , Westerlo 7

Season statistics

As of 4 June 2023

Prizes awarded cover all 40 rounds of the season, i.e. the 34 rounds of regular season football plus the six weeks of Champions Play-Offs and Europe Play-Offs.

Top goalscorers

More information Rank, Player ...

Clean sheets

More information Rank, Player ...

Top assists

More information Rank, Player ...
  • Trésor's tally of 24 was a new single-season Pro League assists record.

Hat-tricks

More information Player, Club ...
  • 4 Player scored four goals.

Notes

  1. [n 1]
    Belgium Felice Mazzù was the manager for matchdays 1 through 11, Netherlands Robin Veldman took up the role of caretaker manager on matchdays 11 through 17.
  2. [n 2]
    Austria Dominik Thalhammer was the manager for matchdays 1 through 9.
  3. [n 3]
    Belgium Edward Still was the manager for matchdays 1 through 14, Belgium Frank Defays took up the role of caretaker manager on matchdays 15 through 17.
  4. [n 4]
    Belgium Carl Hoefkens was the manager for matchdays 1 through 18, England Scott Parker was in charge from matchday 19 through 28.
  5. [n 5]
    Germany Bernd Storck was the manager for matchdays 1 through 14, Belgium Kristoffer Andersen and Belgium Mario Kohnen took up the role of caretaker manager on matchdays 15 through 17.
  6. [n 6]
    France Karim Belhocine was the manager for matchdays 1 through 6, Bosnia and Herzegovina Adnan Čustović for matchdays 7 through 17.
  7. [n 7]
    Netherlands Danny Buijs was the manager for matchdays 1 through 12.
  8. [n 8]
    Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe was the manager for matchdays 1 through 15.
  9. [n 9]
    Belgium José Jeunechamps was the manager for matchdays 1 through 15.
  10. [N 10]
    Norway Ronny Deila was the manager during the regular season and for matchdays 1 through 4 of Play-off II.
  11. [N 11]
    Senegal Mbaye Leye was the manager for matchdays 1 through 29.
  12. [N 12]
    The announcement of Felice Mazzù returning to Charleroi was already made on 12 November 2022, but Mazzù would only officially take up the role during the 2022 FIFA World Cup-break, on 28 November 2022.
  13. [N 13]
    On 25 May 2023, Ronny Deila signed for Club Brugge as new manager. While he left Standard Liège immediately, caretaker Rik De Mil remained in charge at Club Brugge for the remainder of the season.

References

  1. [1]
    "Alderweireld earns Royal Antwerp first Belgian league title in 66 years". The Guardian. 5 June 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Royal Antwerp lift Belgian league title for the first time in 66 years - and break the trophy during the celebrations!". Goal.com. 5 June 2023.
  3. [3]
    Chris Wright (5 June 2023). "Title changes hands 3 times in 5 minutes, Alderweireld stunner seals trophy: You won't find a wilder end to a season than in Belgium". ESPN.
  4. [4]
    "Cuypers geeft Gouden Stier extra glans, Cercle dankt oude bekende (Cuypers gives Golden Bull extra shine, Cercle thanks old acquaintance)" (in Dutch). Voetbal Niewus. 3 June 2023.
  5. [5]
    "Buffalo's sluiten seizoen met een glimlach én de nodige vraagtekens af: "Komende weken zullen meer duidelijkheid brengen" (Buffalos end the season with a smile and the necessary question marks: "The coming weeks will bring more clarity")" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 4 June 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Hugo Cuypers becomes first Belgian top scorer in the Pro League since a teenage Romelu Lukaku". OneFootball. 5 June 2023.
  7. [7]
    "Witte rook over nieuwe competitieformule in 1A: 16 ploegen, tot 3 dalers, halvering blijft" [White smoke on new competition format in 1A: 16 teams, up to 3 teams facing relegation, halving of points remains] (in Dutch). 17 June 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Vincent Kompany en Anderlecht zetten punt achter samenwerking: "Fierheid overheerst"" [Vincent Kompany and Anderlecht put an end to their cooperation: "Proud of it".] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-25.
  9. [9]
    "Geen verrassing: Antwerp neemt afscheid van coach Brian Priske" [No surprise: Antwerp says goodbye to manager Brian Priske] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-23.
  10. [10]
    "Club Brugge-trainer Alfred Schreuder officieel naar Ajax: "Maar eerst afscheid met prijs"" [Club Brugge manager Alfred Schreuder now officially goes to Ajax: "But first farewell with a prize"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-12.
  11. [11]
    "Een aangekondigd vertrek: Trainer Michael Valkanis verlaat Eupen" [An announced departure: manager Michael Valkanis is leaving Eupen] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-04-15.
  12. [12]
    "Racing Genk maakt vertrek Bernd Storck bekend" [Racing Genk announced departure Bernd Storck] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-22.
  13. [13]
    "KV Mechelen bevestigt vertrek van coach Wouter Vrancken: "Hij wil hogerop"" [KV Mechelen confirms departure of manager Wouter Vrancken: "He wants to move up"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-15.
  14. [14]
    "Seraing moet op zoek naar nieuwe coach, Jean-Louis Garcia gaat weg na behoud" [Seraing must look for new manager, Jean-Louis Garcia leaves after avoiding relegation] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-04.
  15. [15]
    "Standard eindigt zijn lijkbleek seizoen met trainersontslag" [Standard ends its pallid season with managerial sacking] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-04-20.
  16. [16]
    "OFFICIEEL: Felice Mazzu is de opvolger van Vincent Kompany bij Anderlecht" [OFFICIAL: Felice Mazzu successor of Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-31.
  17. [17]
    "Zulte Waregem legt zijn lot in handen van clubicoon Mbaye Leye" [Zulte Waregem puts its fate in the hands of club icon Mbaye Leye] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-17.
  18. [18]
    "Mark van Bommel officieel trainer van Antwerp voor twee seizoenen" [Mark van Bommel officially manager of Antwerp for two seasons] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-26.
  19. [19]
    "Officieel: Club Brugge kiest voor Carl Hoefkens als nieuwe hoofdcoach" [Official: Club Brugge chooses Carl Hoefkens as new manager] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-25.
  20. [20]
    "Bernd Storck blijft in België en wordt trainer van Eupen" [Bernd Storck stays in Belgium and becomes Eupen manager] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-25.
  21. [21]
    "Racing Genk bevestigt de komst van Wouter Vrancken: "Bouwen aan een nieuw succesverhaal"". 28 May 2022.
  22. [22]
    "OFFICIEEL: Nederlander Danny Buijs is de nieuwe trainer van KV Mechelen: "Meteen een goed gevoel"". June 2022.
  23. [23]
    "Seraing plukt oude bekende José Jeunechamps weg bij Moeskroen" [Seraing snatches old familiar José Jeunechamps from Mouscron] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-05-20.
  24. [24]
    "Standard legt zijn lot in handen van de Noorse coach Ronny Deila" [Standard puts its fate into the hands of Norwegian manager Ronny Deila] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-06-13.
  25. [25]
    "Karel Geraerts volgt Felice Mazzu op bij Union: "Al bewezen dat hij sterke leider is"". 9 June 2022.
  26. [26]
    "KV Kortrijk neemt na 6 speeldagen afscheid van Karim Belhocine" [KV Kortrijk says goodbye to Karim Belhocine after 6 matchdays] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-08-29.
  27. [27]
    "KV Kortrijk legt zijn lot in handen van oude bekende Adnan Custovic" [KV Kortrijk puts fate into hands of old familiar Adnan Custovic] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-09-01.
  28. [28]
    "CERCLE BRUGGE BEËINDIGT DE SAMENWERKING MET DOMINIK THALHAMMER" [CERCLE BRUGGE ENDS COOPERATION WITH DOMINIK THALHAMMER] (in Dutch). cerclebrugge.be. 2022-09-19.
  29. [29]
    "Stoelendans bij KV Mechelen: Danny Buijs buiten, Steven Defour neemt over als T1" [Musical chairs at KV Mechelen: Danny Buijs out, Steven Defour takes over as head coach] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-10-17.
  30. [30]
    "Charleroi zet coach Edward Still op de keien na zwakke reeks" [Charleroi sacks manager Edward Still after poor run] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-10-22.
  31. [31]
    "Daar is al een nieuw trainersontslag: Eupen gooit Bernd Storck buiten". 23 October 2022.
  32. [32]
    "De trainerscarrousel in de JPL draait door: Adnan Custovic komt er al 2 keer in voor dit seizoen". 14 November 2022.
  33. [33]
    "Officieel: Anderlecht zet coach Felice Mazzu op straat, Veldman neemt tijdelijk over". 24 October 2022.
  34. [34]
    "Ze vallen als vliegen: KV Oostende breekt met Yves Vanderhaeghe". 31 October 2022.
  35. [35]
    "Ook Seraing grijpt in: José Jeunechamps moet zijn koffers pakken". 31 October 2022.
  36. [36]
    "Daar is trainersontslag nr. 9: Adnan Custovic krijgt na 2,5 maanden de bons bij KV Kortrijk" [Here comes sacking number 9: Adnan Custovic asked to leave after 2,5 months at KV Kortrijk] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-11-14.
  37. [37]
    "KV Kortrijk legt zijn lot in handen van Bernd Storck". 18 November 2022.
  38. [38]
    "Edward Still ziet een duidelijk doel bij Eupen: "Ons verzekeren van het behoud"". 24 November 2022.
  39. [39]
    "Charleroi en Felice Mazzu slaan de handen weer in elkaar". 12 November 2022.
  40. [40]
    "Brian Riemer officieel nieuwe coach Anderlecht: "Werk aan de winkel om team te krijgen waar het hoort"" [Brian Riemer officially new Anderlecht manager: "Will work to get the team where it belongs"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-12-02.
  41. [41]
    "Het geduld is op: Club Brugge neemt afscheid van coach Carl Hoefkens" [Out of patience: Club Brugge says goodbye to manager Carl Hoefkens] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-12-28.
  42. [42]
    "Scott Parker nieuwe hoofdcoach Club Brugge". 30 December 2022.
  43. [43]
    "Scott Parker: Club Bruges sack manager after just 12 games in charge". BBC Sport. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  44. [44]
    "Zulte Waregem hoopt op schokeffect: coach Mbaye Leye moet opkrassen" [Zulte Waregem hoping for shock effect: manager Mbaye Leye forced to leave] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-03-15.
  45. [45]
    "Nu ook officieel aangekondigd: Ronny Deila verlaat Standard en wordt nieuwe coach Club Brugge" [Now also officially announced: Ronny Deila is leaving Standard and will be the new coach of Club Brugge] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-05-25.
  46. [46]
    "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  47. [47]
    "Charleroi-KV Mechelen wordt herspeeld: "Niet correct tegenover concurrenten voor de play-offs"". 20 March 2023.
  48. [48]
    "BOEK P" [BOOK P] (PDF). Belgian FA. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  49. [49]
    "BOEK P" [BOOK P] (PDF). Belgian FA. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  50. [50]
    "Pro Scorer". Jupiler Pro League. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  51. [51]
    "Clean Sheets". Jupiler Pro League. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  52. [52]
    "Pro Assist". Jupiler Pro League. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
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