2017–18 Honduran Liga Nacional

2017–18 teams

• Motagua changed its name from Club Deportivo Motagua to Fútbol Club Motagua.
• F.C. Motagua used Comayagua and Choluteca as alternate venues in some games.
• Lobos UPNFM used Comayagua and Choluteca as alternate venues in some games.

  Managerial changes

Apertura

Regular season

Standings

Results

Postseason

Results

• Olimpia won 4–2 on aggregate.
• Real España won 5–2 on aggregate.

• First leg was partially played on 13 December after being suspended at 71' due to crowd invading the pitch. Match was resumed on 21 December.
• Real España won 4–3 on aggregate.
• Motagua 3–3 Olimpia on aggregate. Motagua advanced on regular season record.

• Real España won 3–2 on aggregate.

  Clausura

Regular season

Standings

Results

Postseason

Results

• Olimpia won 2–1 on aggregate.
• Real España 1–1 Honduras Progreso on aggregate. Real España advanced on regular season record.

• Marathón won 3–1 on aggregate.
• Motagua 1–1 Olimpia on aggregate. Motagua advanced on regular season record.

• Marathón 1–1 Motagua on aggregate. Marathón won 5–4 on penalty shoot-outs.

  Top goalscorers

• 24 goals:
• 23 goals:
• 14 goals:
• 12 goals:
• 11 goals:
• 10 goals:
• 9 goals:
• 8 goals:
• 7 goals:
• 6 goals:
• 5 goals:
• 4 goals:
• 3 goals:
• 2 goals:
• 1 goal:
• 1 own goal:

  Aggregate table

Awards

• Goalkeeper of the year: Jonathan Rougier
• Coach of the year: Héctor Vargas
• Top goalscorer: Justin Arboleda
• MVP: Carlos Sánchez
• Rookie of the year: Carlos Mejía
• Referee of the year: Óscar Moncada
• Best reserves coach: Francisco Pavón
• Reserves goalscorer: Foslyn Grant

  Controversies

• In August 2017, former Real C.D. España player Javier Portillo sued the club due to a non-paid contract expiring in 2018. Portillo was sacked in October 2016 for unsporting conduct and passed over the agreement. The National Football Arbitration Court determined that the club must comply with the contract and pay Portillo the sum of L.1,050,000.00 before the start of the Apertura tournament. On 5 August 2017, Real España played their first game of the season defeating Platense F.C. at Estadio Francisco Morazán. A few hours prior, the club had issued a non-negotiable check payable to TNAF and not to Portillo as the verdict demanded. As a result, and according to the league's disciplinary codes, these breaches are penalized with the deduction of points until the debt is condoned, or even relegation to a lower tier. On 10 August 2017, Fuad Abufele, president of Real España, threatened to withdraw from the league if any points are deducted. A week later, Real España did finally issue the check payable to Portillo and the Appeal Commission decided not to deduct any points from Real España, thus contradicting their own regulations. Real España, however, is willing to take the case further to FIFA.
• Due to a referee's strike who were demanding an increase in their salary, the entire week 3 in the Apertura tournament was suspended and had to be rescheduled. The tournament was resumed on week 4 and due to the tight schedule, the pending games were played during a FIFA International Match Calendar.
• On weeks 7 and 12, C.D. Marathón's defender Caue Fernandes injured Carlo Costly against Club Deportivo Olimpia and Eddie Hernández against F.C. Motagua respectively. Both injuries included serious fractures which had left both players out of competition for several weeks and consequently missing important World Cup qualifying matches. In both occasions, Costly strongly criticized Fernandes for his actions calling him a #pig on his Twitter account.
• Real C.D. España lost their fifth consecutive game in week 14 against last placed Platense F.C.. Due to the poor results, president Fuad Abufele publicly threatened the players by revealing that their salary was partially frozen. Additionally, he stated that if the team doesn't react on time, their players might have bitter Christmas.
• During the elaboration of the Clausura schedule on 9 December 2017, both F.C. Motagua and Lobos UPNFM elected to move some of their home games to Estadio Emilio Williams Agasse in Choluteca, the further south stadium in Honduras. This wasn't seen with good eyes by northern clubs such as C.D.S. Vida and C.D. Real Sociedad claiming the distance they have to travel to get there.
• During the Apertura postseason, Allan Pineda, director of the Regional Commission of Discipline, was strongly criticized by the media and specially by F.C. Motagua's foremen, due to his inconsistency when interpreting and enforcing the law. Right before the semifinals, the entity penalized Club Deportivo Olimpia's midfielder Alexander López for one game only due to his violent conduct and a straight red card in a playoff game against Lobos UPNFM. López complied and was eligible to play against Motagua in the semifinals. However, the controversy arose when back in November UPNFM's midfielder Mayron Flores was given two games of suspension for exactly the same actions during a regular season match, consequently missing action against Olimpia in the playoffs. Pineda is known for being an Olimpia's supporter.
• On 13 December 2017, Real C.D. España and C.D. Marathón were playing for the first leg of the Apertura semifinals. In the 71st minute, the referee Armando Castro called a non-existing penalty for Real España. Due to the controversial decision the Marathón's barra brava invaded the pitch and started trowing rocks at the referees and policemen. Real España's fans followed and tried to confront their rival's counterpart creating a chaos which ended up in the release of tear gas bombs. The game was suspended and was finally resumed eight days later on 21 December. The final 19 minutes of play were restarted with the penalty called one week prior in what was known as the longest match ever played in Honduras.
• Prior the beginning of the Clausura tournament, five clubs which represents 50% of the league, declared themselves financially inoperative and unwilling to start the competition unless the league or the government provides them with at least L.4,000,000 to each team to help them heal some debts. Ironically, most of these clubs made notorious signings during the off-season. In the end, the league managed to obtain a loan for a fraction of the amount originally requested. Consequently, the entire schedule was postponed for one week.
• On week 4 of the Clausura tournament, Lobos UPNFM traveled to Tocoa to play against C.D. Real Sociedad. The visiting team claimed that the away locker rooms didn't meet the basic requirements for a professional competition. Coach Salomón Nazar complained that the dressing rooms didn't have water for his players to take showers after the match, having to do so outdoors with buckets. In addition to that, the field itself presented evident deterioration due to the constant rainfall before and during the game. A great percentage of the field was covered in water and some sections even showed absence of grass, implying a great risk to the player's integrity. After a series of complains by the affected visiting teams and reporters, the owners of Estadio Francisco Martínez Durón banned the access to the media.
• On 10 March, F.C. Motagua's forward Román Castillo scored his 73rd goal with his club. Some media, statistic experts and historians claim that former player Ángel Obando scored 77 goals with Motagua between 1974 and 1986 and he has been the club's top-goalscorer for over 40 years. However, Motagua published on their social accounts their own list where Obando appears at the top of the list but with 73 goals only. If the club's numbers are correct, Castillo was now sharing the record along with Obando. The league was consulted by a local newspaper about the controversy to clarify this and to have an official version. Nevertheless, the league refused to publish their version unless the club inquires it in writing.
• In less than a week, Real C.D. España's executives were involved in two controversial discussions with their C.D. Marathón's and F.C. Motagua's counterparts. On week 14 of the Clausura tournament, Real España's forward Domingo Zalazar was roughly injured by Marathón's defender Bryan Johnson. Real España accused Marathón players for their supposedly deliberately actions to harm their rivals. Ronlin Peña, the sport manager of Marathón, called Real España's front-men short minded. Some Real España fans even showed up to Marathón's headquarters threatening Johnson. That same week, during the Honduran Superclásico between Motagua and Club Deportivo Olimpia, a riot occurred outside the stadium resulting in one dead, several injured and more detained. Real España's president Elías Burbara posted on his Twitter account that he hoped for a punishment to the Tegucigalpa's clubs like the one they received last season for similar incidents. Motagua's president Pedro Atala replied saying that they usually never interfere into other's business and don't wish harm to their competitors.