2013–14 Oman Professional League


The 2013-14 Oman Professional League is the 38th edition of the top football league in Oman. The Oman Football League got the seal of approval of a professional league on 1 September 2013 and will henceforth be called the Omantel Professional League. 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 previous 2012–13 Elite League season. 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-man Fanja 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 defeated Saham 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 by Dhofar S.C.S.C. in the 37-year-old history of Oman's top flight competition.

Teams

This season the league had 14 teams. Oman Club and Salalah SC were relegated to the First Division League after finishing in the relegation zone in the 2012–13 season. Al-Tali'aa SC were also relegated after losing the relegation/promotion playoff against Sohar SC. The three relegated teams were replaced by First Division League winners Al-Ittihad Club, runner-up Majees SC and second runner-up Sohar SC.
The winner and the runner-up will qualify for the 2015 AFC Cup

Stadia and locations

ClubHome cityManagerStadiumCapacity
Al-IttihadSalalah Younis Amaan Al-Saada Stadium / Salalah Sports Complex12,000 / 8,000
Al-MusannahAl-Musannah Suhail Al-RushaidiSeeb Stadium14,000
Al-NahdaAl-Buraimi Hamad Al-Azani Nizwa Sports Complex10,000
Al-NasrSalalah Akram Ahmad Salman Al-Saada Stadium / Salalah Sports Complex12,000 / 8,000
Al-OrubaSur Aristică CioabăSur Sports Complex8,000
Al-SeebSeeb Youssef Al-Rafaly Seeb Stadium14,000
Al-ShababBarka Mubarak Al-Gheilani Seeb Stadium14,000
Al-SuwaiqAl-Suwaiq Musabah Al-SaadiSeeb Stadium14,000
DhofarSalalah Dragan Talajić Al-Saada Stadium / Salalah Sports Complex12,000 / 8,000
FanjaFanja Guglielmo Arena Seeb Stadium14,000
MajeesMajees Mohammed Al-Saadi Sohar Regional Sports Complex19,000
SahamSaham Abderrazak Khairi Sohar Regional Sports Complex19,000
SoharSohar Adnan Al-Shuaibat Sohar Regional Sports Complex19,000
SurSur Idriz Al-Murabati Sur Sports Complex8,000

Managerial changes

Managerial changes during the 2013–14 campaign.
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureReplaced by
Al-Ittihad Noureddine Abu FalghaSacked Younis Amaan
Al-Nasr Moscofetch NeboshaSacked Mohammed Al-Balushi
Al-Nasr Mohammed Al-BalushiCaretaker role finished Akram Ahmad Salman
Al-Oruba Omar MazianReleased Aristică Cioabă
Al-Seeb Petre GigiuMutual Consent Ralf Borges Ferreira
Al-Seeb Ralf Borges FerreiraMutual Consent Youssef Al-Rafaly
Al-Shabab Idriz Al-MurabatiSacked Mubarak Al-Gheilani
Fanja Hicham JadraneResigned Mohsin Al-Kharusi
Fanja Mohsin Al-KharusiCaretaker role finished Guglielmo Arena
Mjees Senad KresoSacked Mohammed Al-Saadi
Saham Aristică CioabăResigned Ahmed Abdel-Qader
Saham Ahmed Abdel-QaderMutual Consent Abderrazak Khairi
Sohar Abderrazak KhairiResigned Mohammed Khasib Al-Muqbali
Sohar Mohammed Khasib Al-MuqbaliCaretaker role finished Adnan Al-Shuaibat
Sur Ashraf KasemReleased Petre Gigiu
Sur Petre GigiuSacked Idriz Al-Murabati

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field during each game including at least one player from the AFC country.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3AFC PlayerFormer Players
Al-IttihadTBDTBDTBDTBD Sarra Camara
Al-Musannah João Luiz de Sá Miranda Márcio José Francis Koné Rabea Jumaa Youness Ouganna
Al-Nahda Mouhamed Ablaye Gaye Juma Saeed Abdessamad Ouhakki Jamal Rashid Paulo Roberto Morais Júnior
Al-Nasr Đorđe Vukobrat Youssef Chakir Mohamed Asaad Mahmoud Al-Youssef
Al-Oruba Rafael Barbosa do Nascimento Deumaga Tchangou Ajuzie Kelechi Martins Dilmurat Batur Esme Mends
Ahmed Salama
Mohammed Fawzi
Al-SeebTBDTBD Habib Al-Dahmani Khaled Al-Brijawi Edgar Marcelino
Al-ShababTBD Youness Ouganna Lawrence Doe Ahmed Hatamleh Luomar
Al-Suwaiq Séïdath Tchomogo Nadeem Karim Belal Abduldaim Oday Jafal Tarik El Taib
Dhofar Sarra Camara Moustapha Moctar Jamal Mohammed Mosab Balhous Godwin Attram
Fanja Felipe Lohmann Ely Cissé Mo'ayyad Abu Keshek Khaled Saad
Majees Baba Issaka Abiodun Dayo Yassine Amlil Saif Abdel Hamza
Saham Patrick da Silva Vinícius da Silva Salles Diakite Brahima Mohamed Al-Zeno Sadick Adams
Sohar Adis Culov Ekrem Hodžić Mardik Mardikian Hazem Jawdat
SurTBDTBDTBDTBD

League table

Results

Clubs season-progress

Promotion/Relegation Play-off

1st Leg

2nd Leg

''Al-Nasr secured promotion after winning 3-0 on aggregate

Season statistics

Top scorers

Top Omani Scorers

Hat-tricks

* Player scored 4 goals

OFA Awards

awarded the following awards for the 2013–14 Oman Professional League season.

Controversies

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 between Sur SC and Majees SC was called off by referee Fahad 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.
The Oman Football Association came out with a new code of conduct for players after a controversy in the aftermath of a football match between Fanja SC and Al-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's Ivorian player Juma 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, the Ivory 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 member Hamad 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.