Wikipedia

2016–17 Belgian First Division A

The 2016–17 season of the Belgian First Division A was the 114th season of top-tier football in Belgium and the first following the structural changes in the Belgian football pyramid, reducing the number of professional teams to 24.[citation needed] It began on 29 July 2016 and finished on 31 May 2017. The fixtures were announced on 8 June 2016.[1] Club Brugge were the defending champions but had to settle for second place with Anderlecht taking their 34th title.

Belgian First Division A
Season2016–17
Dates29 July 2016 – 31 May 2017
ChampionsAnderlecht
RelegatedWesterlo
Champions LeagueAnderlecht
Club Brugge
Europa LeagueZulte Waregem
Gent
Oostende
Matches played191
Goals scored525 (2.75 per match)
Top goalscorerŁukasz Teodorczyk
(22 goals)
All statistics correct as of 29 January 2017.

Team changes edit

Teams edit

Stadiums and locations edit

class=notpageimage|
Location of the 2016–17 Belgian First Division A teams
Matricule Club Location Venue Capacity
35 Anderlecht Anderlecht Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 21,000
22 Charleroi Charleroi Stade du Pays de Charleroi 14,000
3 Club Brugge Bruges Jan Breydel Stadium 29,042
4276 Eupen Eupen Kehrweg Stadion 8,363
322 Genk Genk Cristal Arena 24,956
7 Gent Ghent Ghelamco Arena 19,999
19 Kortrijk Kortrijk Guldensporen Stadion 9,399
282 Lokeren Lokeren Daknamstadion 9,560
25 Mechelen Mechelen AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne 13,213
216 Excel Mouscron Mouscron Stade Le Canonnier 10,571
31 Oostende Ostend Versluys Arena 8,432
373 Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden Stayen 14,600
16 Standard Liège Liège Stade Maurice Dufrasne 28,278
4068 Waasland-Beveren Beveren Freethiel Stadion 8,190
2024 Westerlo Westerlo Het Kuipje 8,035
5381 Zulte Waregem Waregem Regenboogstadion 9,540

Personnel and kits edit

Club Manager Captain Kit Manufacturer Sponsors
Anderlecht   René Weiler   Sofiane Hanni Adidas BNP Paribas Fortis
Charleroi   Felice Mazzu   Francisco Martos Hungaria Proximus
Club Brugge   Michel Preud'homme   Timmy Simons Nike Daikin
Eupen   Jordi Condom Aulí   Luis García Fernández BURRDA Aspire Academy
Excel Mouscron   Mircea Rednic   David Hubert Patrick Star Casino
Genk   Albert Stuivenberg   Thomas Buffel Nike Beobank
Gent   Hein Vanhaezebrouck   Danijel Milićević Jartazi VDK Spaarbank
Kortrijk   Bart Van Lancker   Nebojša Pavlović Jako AGO Jobs & HR
Lokeren   Rúnar Kristinsson   Killian Overmeire Jartazi QTeam
Mechelen   Yannick Ferrera   Seth De Witte Kappa Telenet
Oostende   Yves Vanderhaeghe   Sebastien Siani Joma Willems Veranda's
Sint-Truiden   Ivan Leko   Steven De Petter Kappa Golden Palace
Standard Liège   Aleksandar Janković   Alexander Scholz Kappa BASE
Waasland-Beveren   Čedomir Janevski   Ibrahima Seck Kappa Circus
Westerlo   Jacky Mathijssen   Koen Van Langendonck Saller Soudal
Zulte-Waregem   Francky Dury   Mbaye Leye Patrick Record Bank

Managerial changes edit

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Sint-Truiden   Chris O'Loughlin Sacked End of 2015–16 season[2] Pre-season   Ivan Leko 14 April 2016[3]
Anderlecht   Besnik Hasi Mutual consent End of 2015–16 season[4]   René Weiler 21 June 2016
Kortrijk   Patrick De Wilde Mutual consent End of 2015–16 season[5]   Karim Belhocine 1 July 2016[5]
Kortrijk   Karim Belhocine Did not possess Pro-licence diploma 29 August 2016[6] 8th   Bart Van Lancker 29 August 2016[6]
Standard Liège   Yannick Ferrera Sacked 6 September 2016[7] 10th   Aleksandar Janković 6 September 2016[7]
Mechelen   Aleksandar Janković Signed by Standard Liège 6 September 2016[7] 7th   Yannick Ferrera 12 September 2016[8]
Westerlo   Bob Peeters Sacked 13 September 2016[9] 16th   Jacky Mathijssen 14 September 2016[10]
Lokeren   Georges Leekens Sacked 26 October 2016[11] 12th   Rúnar Kristinsson 28 October 2016[12]
Waasland-Beveren   Stijn Vreven Sacked 28 October 2016[13] 14th   Čedomir Janevski 7 November 2016[14]
Excel Mouscron   Glen De Boeck Sacked 5 December 2016[15] 15th   Mircea Rednic 6 December 2016[16]
Genk   Peter Maes Sacked 26 December 2016[17] 9th   Albert Stuivenberg 27 December 2016
Kortrijk   Bart Van Lancker Belhocine obtained Pro-licence diploma 8 March 2017[18] 10th   Karim Belhocine 8 March 2017[18]
Standard Liège   Aleksandar Janković Sacked 17 April 2017[19] Regular season: 9th
Europa League POs: 5th 		  José Jeunechamps (caretaker) 17 April 2017

Regular season edit

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Anderlecht 30 18 7 5 67 30 +37 61 Qualification for the championship play-offs
2 Club Brugge 30 18 5 7 56 24 +32 59
3 Zulte Waregem 30 15 9 6 49 38 +11 54
4 Gent 30 14 8 8 45 29 +16 50
5 Oostende 30 14 8 8 52 37 +15 50
6 Charleroi 30 13 10 7 34 29 +5 49[a]
7 Mechelen 30 14 6 10 41 36 +5 48 Qualification for the Europa League play-offs
8 Genk 30 14 6 10 40 35 +5 48
9 Standard Liège 30 10 12 8 47 38 +9 39[a]
10 Kortrijk 30 8 7 15 38 55 −17 31
11 Lokeren 30 7 10 13 24 34 −10 31
12 Sint-Truiden 30 8 6 16 35 48 −13 30
13 Eupen 30 8 6 16 40 64 −24 30
14 Waasland-Beveren 30 7 9 14 28 43 −15 30
15 Excel Mouscron 30 7 3 20 29 53 −24 24
16 Westerlo (R) 30 5 8 17 33 65 −32 23 Relegation to First Division B
Source: Belgian First Division A (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[22]
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b The match between Charleroi and Standard Liège on 4 December was stopped after 68 minutes after supporters from both teams had been throwing objects and fireworks onto the pitch, with Standard leading 3–1. On 15 December, the Royal Belgian Football Association decided to award zero points to both teams.[20] Standard appealed this decision, however the Belgian arbitration court for sports finally ruled that the decision would stand, meaning the 3–1 score was kept but no points were awarded. Standard Liège was however relieved of the penalty to play one match behind closed doors.[21]

Results edit

Home \ Away AND BRU CHA EUP GNK GNT KVK LOK KVM EXM KVO STA STV WBE WES ZWA
Anderlecht — 0–0 3–2 4–0 2–0 2–2 5–1 1–0 2–0 7–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 3–0 1–2 4–2
Club Brugge 2–1 — 1–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 5–1 1–0 6–1 2–1 2–0 2–2 2–2 2–1 4–0 5–0
Charleroi 0–2 1–0 — 3–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–1 1–3[a] 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–1
Eupen 2–2 1–4 2–2 — 0–1 3–2 1–0 2–2 0–2 1–4 2–1 2–2 4–2 0–2 3–3 1–3
Genk 0–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 — 2–0 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 2–2 2–1 1–0
Gent 2–3 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 — 3–0 3–0 3–0 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 4–2 3–0
Kortrijk 1–3 2–1 2–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 — 2–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 3–3 0–1 1–2 4–1 2–3
Lokeren 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–3 0–0 2–1 — 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 3–0 1–1
Mechelen 3–2 0–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 3–0 — 2–0 2–3 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 2–3
Mouscron 1–2 0–3 0–1 3–0 2–2 0–2 0–1 2–1 1–4 — 1–2 1–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–5
Oostende 1–4 1–0 1–2 1–3 6–0 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–0 2–1 — 3–1 2–2 2–1 5–0 1–1
Standard Liège 0–1 0–3 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 0–3 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–2 — 2–0 5–0 3–1 4–1
Sint-Truiden 0–0 0–1 2–2 2–1 0–3 3–1 1–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–2 — 4–1 2–2 0–2
Waasland-Beveren 2–1 1–0 0–1 4–2 0–0 2–3 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 0–1 3–1 — 0–0 0–2
Westerlo 2–4 1–2 0–0 1–2 0–4 0–0 4–1 1–3 1–2 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–0 1–0 — 1–2
Zulte Waregem 3–2 0–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 4–1 1–1 2–2 —
Source: Belgian Pro League (in Dutch)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
  1. ^ The match between Charleroi and Standard Liège on 4 December was stopped after 68 minutes after supporters from both teams had been throwing objects and fireworks onto the pitch, with Standard leading 3–1. On 15 December, the Royal Belgian Football Association decided to award zero points to both teams.[23] Standard appealed this decision, however the Belgian arbitration court for sports finally ruled that the decision would stand, meaning the 3–1 score was kept but no points were awarded. Standard Liège was however relieved of the penalty to play one match behind closed doors.[24]

Championship play-offs edit

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Anderlecht 31 points, Club Brugge 30, Zulte Waregem 27, Gent 25, Oostende 25 and Charleroi 25. The points of Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Charleroi were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, the half point would have been deducted for these teams.

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AND CLU GNT OOS CHA ZWA
1 Anderlecht (C) 10 6 3 1 14 6 +8 52 Qualification for the Champions League group stage — 2–0 0–0 3–2 0–1 2–0
2 Club Brugge 10 4 3 3 16 14 +2 45 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round 1–1 — 3–1 1–1 2–1
3 Gent 10 4 4 2 16 11 +5 41 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round 0–0 2–1 — 1–1 1–1 5–2
4 Oostende (O) 10 3 3 4 14 17 −3 37 Qualification for the Europa League play-off final 0–1 2–1 4–3 — 1–0 1–1
5 Charleroi 10 2 4 4 10 13 −3 35 1–3 1–3 0–1 1–1 — 2–0
6 Zulte Waregem 10 1 3 6 12 21 −9 33 Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a] 1–2 2–2 0–2 3–1 2–2 —
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Matches won; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Away matches won; 8) Play-off.[25]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners
Notes:
  1. ^ Zulte Waregem qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2016–17 Belgian Cup.

Europa League play-offs edit

Group A of the play-offs consisted of the teams finishing in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14 during the regular season and the first and third placed team in the qualifying positions in the 2016–17 Belgian First Division B. The teams finishing in positions 8, 10, 11, 13 and 15 joined the second placed qualifier from the 2016–17 Belgian First Division B to form group B.

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification STV KVM W-B STA USG LIE
1 Sint-Truiden (Q) 10 7 1 2 23 7 +16 22 Qualification for the Europa League play-off semi-finals — 7–0 3–0 1–0 0–1 2–1
2 Mechelen 10 5 1 4 7 16 −9 16 1–0 — 1–3 1–0 1–0 1–0
3 Waasland-Beveren 10 5 0 5 17 19 −2 15 0–1 1–2 — 1–3 1–4 3–2
4 Standard Liège 10 4 2 4 14 11 +3 14 2–2 2–0 0–2 — 3–1 2–0
5 Union SG 10 3 1 6 15 19 −4 10 1–4 3–0 1–3 2–2 — 1–3
6 Lierse 10 3 1 6 12 16 −4 10 1–3 0–0 2–3 1–0 2–1 —
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[26]
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GNK LOK EUP KVK EXM ROE
1 Genk (Q) 10 8 2 0 26 4 +22 26 Qualification for the Europa League play-off semi-finals — 4–0 2–1 3–0 6–0 3–1
2 Lokeren 10 3 6 1 21 20 +1 15 1–1 — 4–1 0–0 2–2 2–1
3 Eupen 10 3 4 3 20 20 0 13 1–1 3–3 — 3–2 2–0 2–2
4 Kortrijk 10 3 3 4 15 22 −7 12 0–3 4–4 3–3 — 2–1 0–3
5 Excel Mouscron 10 2 2 6 11 22 −11 8 0–2 2–2 0–2 0–1 — 1–0
6 Roeselare 10 2 1 7 17 22 −5 7 0–1 2–3 3–2 2–3 3–5 —
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[27]
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Semi-final edit

The winners of both play-off groups competed in one match to play the fourth-placed or fifth-placed team of the championship play-offs for a spot in the final. This match was played on the field of the highest ranked team in the regular competition. The winner of the semi-final advanced to the final to play for a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.

Genk3–0Sint-Truiden
Buffel   32'
Boëtius   43'
Samatta   55'		 Pro League
Soccerway

Final edit

The winner of the Europa League play-off semi-final and the fourth-placed team played one match to determine the Europa League play-off winner. KV Oostende qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, where they were eliminated by Olympique Marseille.

Oostende3–1Genk
Akpala   27'
Rozehnal   32'
Jali   51'		 Sporza Schrijvers   45' (pen.)

Season statistics edit

Clean sheets edit

As of matches played on 25 February 2017.[30]
Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1   Ludovic Butelle Club Brugge 12
2   Colin Coosemans Mechelen 9
  Nicolas Penneteau Charleroi 9
4   Jean-François Gillet Standard 8
5   Marco Bizot Genk 7
6   Frank Boeckx Anderlecht 6
  Sammy Bossut Zulte Waregem 6
  Copa Lokeren 6
  Koen Van Langendonck Westerlo 6
10   William Dutoit Sint-Truiden & Oostende 5
  László Köteles Waasland-Beveren 5
  Anthony Moris Mechelen 5
  Davy Roef Anderlecht 5
  Yannick Thoelen Gent 5

Number of teams by provinces edit

Number of teams Province or region Team(s)
4   West Flanders Club Brugge, Kortrijk, Oostende and Zulte Waregem
3   East Flanders Gent, Lokeren and Waasland-Beveren
2   Antwerp Mechelen and Westerlo
  Hainaut Charleroi and Mouscron
  Liège Eupen and Standard Liège
  Limburg Genk and Sint-Truiden
1   Brussels Anderlecht
0   Flemish Brabant,   Walloon Brabant,   Namur and   Luxembourg /

Attendances edit

Football clubs with an average home attendance of at least 10,000:[31]

Team Home average
Club Brugge 26,691
Standard de Liège 21,802
KAA Gent 19,807
RSC Anderlecht 18,333
KRC Genk 16,104
KV Mechelen 11,991

References edit

  1. ^ "KV Mechelen - Club Brugge openingsmatch Jupiler Pro League 2016-2017". Belgian First Division A. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  2. ^ "STVV gaat niet door met coach O'Loughlin: "Zoeken opnieuw een jeugdige trainer"" [STVV does not continue with manager O'Loughlin: "We're looking for a youthful trainer again"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-04-04.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Ivan Leko wordt coach van STVV: "Dit is een ambitieuze club"" [Ivan Leko becomes manager of STVV: "This is an ambitious club"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-04-14.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Hasi is niet langer coach van Anderlecht" [Hasi no longer manager at Anderlecht] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-05-25.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b "Kortrijk en De Wilde zetten hun samenwerking stop, nieuwe spits tekent" [Kortrijk and De Wilde stop cooperation, nieuwe spits tekent] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-07-01.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b "Bart Van Lancker is nieuwe stroman bij KV Kortrijk" [Bart Van Lancker is new jackstraw at KV Kortrijk] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-08-29.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b c "Standard stopt met Yannick Ferrera en verwelkomt Aleksandar Jankovic" [Standard ends cooperation with Yannick Ferrera and welcomes Aleksandar Jankovic] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-09-06.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Ferrera: "KVM is beste wat me kon overkomen na Standard"" [Ferrera: "KVM best thing which could happen to me after Standard"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-09-12.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Bob Peeters krijgt zijn ontslag bij Westerlo" [Bob Peeters gets sacked at Westerlo] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-09-13.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Jacky Mathijssen moet Westerlo uit de gevarenzone loodsen" [Jacky Mathijssen to lead Westerlo out of danger zone] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-09-14.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Georges Leekens is niet langer trainer van Lokeren" [Georges Leekens no longer trainer at Lokeren] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2016-10-26.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Lokeren legt lot in handen van Runar Kristinsson: IJslander volgt Georges Leekens op". Knack (in Dutch). 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Vreven vertrekt bij Waasland-Beveren". RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Janevski volgt Vreven op bij Waasland-Beveren". Sport.be (in Dutch). 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Moeskroen zet Glen De Boeck op de keien" [Mouscron kicks Glen De Boeck to the curb]. sporza.be (in Dutch). 5 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Mircea Rednic moet Moeskroen uit de nood helpen" [Mircea Rednic to help Mouscron get out of trouble]. sporza.be (in Dutch). 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Peter Maes is ontslagen als coach van KRC Genk" [Peter Maes sacked as head coach of KRC Genk]. sporza.be (in Dutch). 5 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ a b "Belhocine neemt opnieuw over als T1 bij KV Kortrijk" [Belhocine again takes over as head coach at KV Kortrijk] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-03-08.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "Aleksandar Jankovic is ontslagen bij Standard" [Aleksandar Jankovic sacked at Standard] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2017-04-17.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "Geen punten voor Charleroi en Standard (No points for Charleroi and Standard)" (in Dutch). Jupiler Pro League. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Noch Standard noch Charleroi krijgt punten" [Neither Standard nor Charleroi receives points] (in Dutch). Sporza.be. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  22. ^ "First Division A 2016/2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Geen punten voor Charleroi en Standard (No points for Charleroi and Standard)" (in Dutch). Jupiler Pro League. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Noch Standard noch Charleroi krijgt punten" [Neither Standard nor Charleroi receives points] (in Dutch). Sporza.be. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  25. ^ "FIRST DIVISION A 2016/2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  26. ^ "FIRST DIVISION A 2016/2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  27. ^ "FIRST DIVISION A 2016/2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  28. ^ "Summary - First Division A - Belgium - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  29. ^ "Jupiler Pro League (Belgié) - Wie zorgde voor de meeste goals en assists in 2016 - 2017? | Voetbalkrant.com". Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  30. ^ "TEXACO CLEAN SHEET". Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  31. ^ "Eerste klasse a 2016/2017 - Attendance".
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