| Season | 2013–14 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Nahda |
| Relegated | Majees Al-Ittihad |
| AFC Champions League qualifiers | Al-Nahda |
| 2015 AFC Cup | Fanja |
| Matches | 182 |
| Goals | 484 (2.66 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Jumaa Saeed Mohammed Al-Ghassani(16 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Seeb 8–1Al-Ittihad (17 April 2014) |
| Biggest away win | Al-Shabab 2-6Al-Nahda (16 May 2014) |
| Highest scoring | Al-Seeb 8–1Al-Ittihad (17 April 2014) Al-Suwaiq 6–3Majees (16 May 2014) |
| Longest winning run | (5 games) Fanja |
| Longest unbeaten run | (11 games) Al-Nahda |
| Longest losing run | (6 games) Al-Oruba Mjees Sur |
2014–15 → | |
The2013–14Oman Professional League (known as theOmantel Professional League for sponsorship reasons) is the 38th edition of the topfootball league inOman. The Oman Football League got the seal of approval of a professional league on 1 September 2013 and will henceforth be called theOmantel Professional League (OPL).[1] The season began on 13 September 2013, and concluded on 16 May 2014.Al-Suwaiq Club were the defending champions, having won their third title in the previous2012–13 Elite League season.[2] On Sunday, 28 April 2014,Al-Nahda Club were crowned the champions of the inaugural Oman Professional League with one game remaining after Al-Suwaiq Club edged out ten-manFanja SC 5-3. Fanja SC needed a draw or a win on Sunday to prolong the fight for the OPL title, after Al-Nahda Club defeatedSaham SC 4-3 to take their tally to 51 points, but its defeat dashed any hopes for the eight-time winners to match the record of nine titles, held byDhofar S.C.S.C. in the 37-year-old history ofOman's top flight competition.[3][4]
This season the league had 14 teams.Oman Club andSalalah SC were relegated to the First Division League after finishing in the relegation zone in the2012–13 season.Al-Tali'aa SC were also relegated after losing the relegation/promotion playoff againstSohar SC. The three relegated teams were replaced by First Division League winnersAl-Ittihad Club, runner-upMajees SC and second runner-upSohar SC (Won the Relegation/Promotion playoff against Al-Tali'aa SC).
The winner and the runner-up will qualify for the2015 AFC Cup
Managerial changes during the 2013–14 campaign.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ittihad |  Noureddine Abu Falgha | Sacked | Younis Amaan |
| Al-Nasr |  Moscofetch Nebosha | Sacked | Mohammed Al-Balushi |
| Al-Nasr | Mohammed Al-Balushi | Caretaker role finished |  Akram Ahmad Salman |
| Al-Oruba |  Omar Mazian | Released |  Aristică Cioabă |
| Al-Seeb | Petre Gigiu | Mutual Consent |  Ralf Borges Ferreira |
| Al-Seeb | Ralf Borges Ferreira | Mutual Consent | Youssef Al-Rafaly |
| Al-Shabab | Driss El Mrabet | Sacked | Mubarak Al-Gheilani |
| Fanja |  Hicham Jadrane | Resigned | Mohsin Al-Kharusi |
| Fanja | Mohsin Al-Kharusi | Caretaker role finished |  Guglielmo Arena |
| Mjees |  Senad Kreso | Sacked | Mohammed Al-Saadi |
| Saham | Aristică Cioabă | Resigned |  Ahmed Abdel-Qader |
| Saham | Ahmed Abdel-Qader | Mutual Consent | Abderrazak Khairi |
| Sohar | Abderrazak Khairi | Resigned | Mohammed Khasib Al-Muqbali |
| Sohar | Mohammed Khasib Al-Muqbali | Caretaker role finished | Adnan Al-Shuaibat |
| Sur |  Ashraf Kasem | Released | Petre Gigiu |
| Sur | Petre Gigiu | Sacked | Driss El Mrabet |
Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player fromAFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field during each game including at least one player from the AFC country.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Nahda(C) | 26 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 57 | 23 | +34 | 57 | Qualification to the2015 AFC Champions League Preliminary Round[a] |
| 2 | Fanja | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 52 | Qualification to the2015 AFC Cup play-off Round |
| 3 | Al-Suwaiq | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 47 | Qualification to the2015 GCC Champions League Group Stage |
| 4 | Al-Seeb | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 38 | 27 | +11 | 42 | |
| 5 | Al-Musannah | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 37 | |
| 6 | Dhofar | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 28 | 19 | +9 | 36 | |
| 7 | Sohar | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 36 | |
| 8 | Saham | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 35 | |
| 9 | Sur | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 34 | |
| 10 | Al-Shabab | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 34 | |
| 11 | Al-Oruba | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 34 | |
| 12 | Al-Nasr | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 28 | Relegation Playoff |
| 13 | Majees(R) | 26 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 27 | 65 | −38 | 14 | Relegation to2014–15 Oman First Division League |
| 14 | Al-Ittihad(R) | 26 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 20 | 58 | −38 | 7 |
| Home \ Away | ALI | ALM | ALNH | ALN | ALO | ALS | ALSH | ALSU | DHO | FAN | MJS | SAH | SOH | SUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ittihad | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| Al-Musannah | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | |
| Al-Nahda | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Al-Nasr | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| Al-Oruba | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | |
| Al-Seeb | 8–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | |
| Al-Shabab | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–6 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Al-Suwaiq | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 6–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| Dhofar | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Fanja | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–5 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| Majees | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Saham | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Sohar | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–4 | |
| Sur | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ittihad | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| Al-Musannah | W | W | L | W | L | D | L | W | L | D | D | W | D | W | D | D | L | L | W | L | D | W | D | W | D | W |
| Al-Nahda | W | L | W | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | W |
| Al-Nasr | L | L | W | D | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | D | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | W | D | L | W | L | D | L |
| Al-Oruba | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | W | D | D | W | D | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | D |
| Al-Seeb | W | W | D | D | W | L | D | D | W | W | W | D | L | W | L | L | L | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | D | W |
| Al-Shabab | D | L | W | D | W | D | W | L | D | D | L | W | D | L | D | W | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | W | D | L |
| Al-Suwaiq | W | L | W | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | L | D | D | W | L | D | D | W | D | D | L | W | W | W |
| Dhofar | W | W | L | W | D | D | D | L | D | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | D | D | D | L | D | L | W |
| Fanja | D | W | W | D | D | W | W | W | L | D | D | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | D | L | W | W |
| Majees | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | L | L | D | L |
| Saham | L | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | D | W | D | W | D | L | D | L |
| Sohar | L | W | D | L | D | D | L | L | D | D | D | L | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | D |
| Sur | W | L | W | W | L | W | D | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | W | D | D | W | D | L | W | D | D | L |
| Al-Mudhaibi | 0 – 1 | Al-Nasr |
|---|---|---|
Said 65' |
| Al-Nasr | 2 - 0 | Al-Mudhaibi |
|---|---|---|
| Said 6',90+5' |
Al-Nasr secured promotion after winning 3-0 on aggregate
| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saud Al-Farsi | 4—1 | 29 March 2014 | ||
| Jumaa Saeed | 3—1 | 29 March 2014 | ||
| Said Al-Ruzaiqi | 3—0 | 29 March 2014 | ||
| Abdul Aziz Al-Noufali* | 8—1 | 17 April 2014 | ||
| Salim Al-Shamsi | 6—2 | 16 May 2014 |
* Player scored 4 goals
Oman Football Association awarded the following awards for the 2013–14 Oman Professional League season.[6]
| Omantel Professional League Media Coverage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | Television Channel | Matches |
| Oman | Oman Sports TV | 4 Matches per round |
The league was the subject of controversies like the wearing of similar-coloured jerseys, unusual hairstyles and excessive goal celebrations.
On 20 September 2013, the match betweenSur SC andMajees SC was called off by refereeFahad Al-Subahi on the premise that the teams were wearing similar-coloured jerseys'. But just three days later, the Oman Professional League's Disciplinary Committee decided to replay the match and ruled that Subahi had erred in his judgement. The match was replayed on 12 November 2013 which Sur SC won 2-1.[7]
TheOman Football Association came out with a new code of conduct for players after a controversy in the aftermath of a football match betweenFanja SC andAl-Nahda Club. According to the new regulations, OFA prohibits players from extreme celebrations on the field after scoring a goal and the governing body also bans players sporting unusual hairstyles or even colouring their hair. As a result, excessive goal celebrations and unusual hairstyles have been shown the red card by the OFA as it moves to protect the 'ethics' of the game. The decision came after Al-Nahda Club'sIvorian playerJuma Saeed was seen 'inappropriately' celebrating on the field after scoring a goal against Fanja SC on 29 March 2014 that raised heated debates among the football aficionados in the country. However, theIvory Coast player was reprimanded with a warning. OFA also decided to make the OPL's Disciplinary Committee an autonomous body with additional powers. Headed by the OFA board memberHamad Al-Hadrami, the Disciplinary Committee can now take action against players violating the new code of conduct. OFA also gave powers to the match referees who will now inspect the dressing room before any domestic games to ensure the players adhere to the code of conduct.[8]
| ||
