TheVictoria Stadium where each match was played | |
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 August 2018 – 20 May 2019 |
| Champions | Lincoln Red Imps (24th title) |
| Champions League | Lincoln Red Imps |
| Europa League | Europa St Joseph's |
| Matches | 135 |
| Goals | 477 (3.53 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Boro (21 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Jamie Robba Javi Muñoz (9 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Europa 13–1Boca Gibraltar (18 May 2019) |
| Biggest away win | Boca Gibraltar 0–11Lincoln Red Imps (2 February 2019) |
| Highest scoring | Europa 13–1Boca Gibraltar (18 May 2019) |
| Longest winning run | 9 matches Lincoln Red Imps |
| Longest unbeaten run | 16 matches Europa |
| Longest winless run | 19 matches Boca Gibraltar |
| Longest losing run | 16 matches Boca Gibraltar |
| All statistics correct as of 20 May 2019. | |
The2018–19Gibraltar Premier Division was the 120th season of the top-tier statefootball league inGibraltar, as well as the sixth season since theGibraltar Football Association joinedUEFA in 2013. The league was contested by ten clubs, and began on 13 August 2018.[1]
Lincoln Red Imps were the reigning champions, having won their 23rd title the previous season. They competed in theUEFA Champions League qualifiers, whileEuropa andSt Joseph's contested theUEFA Europa League qualifiers. The season was marred by revelations of betting rules violations by a host of players and coaches at a number of clubs.
The ten Premier Division clubs played each other three times for a total of 27 matches each.[2] The tenth-placed team in the league would be relegated and the ninth-placed team in the league would enter a playoff with the second-placed team from theSecond Division for a place in the 2019–20 Premier Division.[2]
The champions earned a place in thepreliminary round of the 2019–20 Champions League, and the second–placed club earned a place in thepreliminary round of the 2019–20 Europa League. This season also saw the expansion of the Home Grown Player Rule to require all teams to have a minimum of three Gibraltarian players on the field of play at all times, as well as introducing a maximum registered squad size of 25 players. However, the introduction of theGibraltar Intermediate League allows them to register a reserve squad of 18 players, of which 13 must be Gibraltarian.[3]
Starting in November, the Gibraltar FA began issuing a number of bans following an in-depth investigation of suspected betting rule violations by players and coaches. At first, severalEuropa players, includingRubo Blanco, Iván Moya and manager Juan José Gallardo, were banned[4] Following this,Lincoln Red Imps manager Yiyi Pérez was also suspended[5] In March 2019,Lions Gibraltar andGibraltar Phoenix players includingRafael Bado and Juan Manuel Llaves received bans.[6] On 12 April 4 further players fromBoca Gibraltar,Gibraltar United andManchester 62, as well as formerSt Joseph's andGlacis United managerAlfonso Cortijo, received bans.[7]
At the conclusion of theprevious season,Manchester 62 were relegated.Boca Gibraltar took their place, having won theSecond Division title and earning promotion for the first time in their history.
Lynx finished 9th the previous season, leaving them to face the runners up in the Second Division,FC Olympique 13, in a play-off. Lynx won the play-off 2–0 on 8 June 2018 to secure their status in the Premier Division.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined underFIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Club sponsor | 2017–18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Gibraltar | ES | Coral | D2, 1st | ||
| Europa | Jako | La Parrilla Betfred | 2nd | ||
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Luanvi | Viajes LineaSol | 6th | ||
| Gibraltar United | Kappa | Quantocoin | 4th | ||
| Glacis United | Nike | 7th | |||
| Lincoln Red Imps | Joma | Mansion.com | 1st | ||
| Lions Gibraltar | Givova | 8th | |||
| Lynx | Silver Sport | Verralls | 9th | ||
| Mons Calpe | Givova | Tokamóvil | 5th | ||
| St Joseph's | Joma | 3rd |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Mutual consent | 8 June 2018 | Pre-season | 15 June 2018 | ||
| Glacis United | Signed byCD San Roque | 26 June 2018 | ||||
| Lions Gibraltar | Mutual consent | 29 June 2018 | 29 June 2018 | |||
| Gibraltar United | Resigned | 13 July 2018[8] | 14 July 2018 | |||
| Glacis United | 9 August 2018[9] | 10 August 2018 | ||||
| Lincoln Red Imps | Suspended[10] | 8 November 2018 | 2nd | 8 November 2018[11] | ||
| Glacis United | Resigned[12] | 9 November 2018 | 7th | December 2018 | ||
| Europa | Suspended[13] | 23 November 2018 | 1st | 23 November 2018 | ||
| Lincoln Red Imps | Resigned | 12 December 2018[14] | 2nd | 13 December 2018[15] | ||
| Boca Gibraltar | 18 December 2018[16] | 9th | 19 December 2018[17] | |||
| Gibraltar United | Sacked | 6 January 2019 | 4th | 7 January 2019 | ||
| Europa | Mutual consent | 5 February 2019 | 2nd | 6 February 2019[18] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Red Imps(C) | 27 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 84 | 19 | +65 | 66 | Qualification for theChampions League preliminary round |
| 2 | Europa FC | 27 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 84 | 20 | +64 | 64 | Qualification for theEuropa League preliminary round |
| 3 | St Joseph's | 27 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 69 | 29 | +40 | 55 | |
| 4 | Mons Calpe | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 63 | 29 | +34 | 49 | |
| 5 | Gibraltar Phoenix | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 43 | |
| 6 | Gibraltar United | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 39 | |
| 7 | Lynx | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 29 | 45 | −16 | 31 | |
| 8 | Glacis United | 27 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 28 | 58 | −30 | 24 | |
| 9 | Lions Gibraltar | 27 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 17 | 77 | −60 | 9 | |
| 10 | Boca Gibraltar | 27 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 13 | 129 | −116 | 7 |
Matches 1–18[edit]
Source:Gibraltar Football Association,UEFA Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. | Matches 19–27[edit]
Source:Gibraltar Football Association,UEFA Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
|
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Joseph's | 21 | |
| 2 | St Joseph's | 20 | |
| 3 | Mons Calpe | 18 | |
| 4 | Mons Calpe | 16 | |
| 5 | Europa | 14 | |
| 6 | Europa | 12 | |
| Europa | |||
| 8 | Lincoln Red Imps | 11 | |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | |||
| 10 | Europa | 10 | |
| Lincoln Red Imps | |||
| Gibraltar Phoenix |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Europa | 9 | |
| St Joseph's | |||
| 3 | Gibraltar Phoenix | 8 | |
| Lincoln Red Imps | |||
| Mons Calpe | |||
| 6 | Gibraltar United | 7 | |
| 7 | Glacis United | 5 | |
| 8 | Europa | 4 | |
| Lincoln Red Imps | |||
| 10 | Lynx | 3 | |
| Lynx |
No league football was played in September 2018 due to the international break and theGibraltar Music Festival.
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||
| August | Lincoln Red Imps | Lincoln Red Imps | [21] | ||
| October | Gibraltar Phoenix | Europa | [22] | ||
| November | St Joseph's | St Joseph's | [23] | ||
| December | St Joseph's | St Joseph's | [24] | ||
| January | Mons Calpe | Mons Calpe | [25] | ||
| February | Lincoln Red Imps | Lincoln Red Imps | [26] | ||
| March | Europa | Europa | [27] | ||
| April | Lincoln Red Imps | Lincoln Red Imps | [28] | ||
End of season awards were handed out by Football Gibraltar, theGibraltar Football Association's official UEFA correspondents, on 28 May and 2 June.[29][30]
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Manager of the Season | St Joseph's | |
| Goalkeeper of the Season | St Joseph's | |
| Defender of the Season | Lincoln Red Imps | |
| Midfielder of the Season | Europa | |
| Striker of the Season | St Joseph's | |
| Player of the Season | Lincoln Red Imps | |
| Young Player of the Season | Europa | |
| Fans' Player of the Season | Lincoln Red Imps | |
| Fans' Young Player of the Season | Europa |