# 1988–89 Yugoslav Second League

The 1988–89 Yugoslav Second League season was the 43rd season of the Second Federal League (Serbo-Croatian: Druga savezna liga), the second level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946.

## Teams

A total of twenty teams contested the league, including eight sides from the West and eight sides East Division from the 1987–88 season, two clubs relegated from the 1987–88 Yugoslav First League and two sides promoted from the Inter-Republic Leagues played in the 1987–88 season. The league was contested in a double round robin format, with each club playing every other club twice, for a total of 38 rounds. Two points were awarded for a win, while in case of a draw - penalty kicks were taken and the winner of the shootout was awarded one point while the loser got nothing. The 1988–89 season was the first to feature this tie-break system, and the Yugoslav FA's decision to implement this caused a lot of criticism and controversy. Apparently, the biggest proponent of the new system was FA president Slavko Šajber and the system was often derisively referred to in the media as 'Šajber's penalties'.
Prishtina and Sutjeska were relegated from the 1987–88 Yugoslav First League after finishing in the bottom two places of the league table. The two clubs promoted to the second level were Belasica and Bačka.
| Team | Location | Federal subject | Position in 1987–88 |
| Bačka BP | Bačka Palanka | SAP Vojvodina | — |
| Belasica | Strumica | SR Macedonia | — |
| OFK Belgrade | Belgrade | SR Serbia | 0022nd in YSL East |
| Borac Banja Luka | Banja Luka | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0088th in YSL West |
| Borac Čačak | Čačak | SR Serbia | 0099th in YSL East |
| Dinamo Vinkovci | Vinkovci | SR Croatia | 0033rd in YSL West |
| GOŠK-Jug | Dubrovnik | SR Croatia | 0022nd in YSL West |
| Kikinda | Kikinda | SAP Vojvodina | 0044th in YSL West |
| Leotar | Trebinje | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0077th in YSL West |
| Liria | Prizren | SAP Kosovo | 0055th in YSL East |
| Mačva Šabac | Šabac | SR Serbia | 0077th in YSL East |
| Novi Pazar | Novi Pazar | SR Serbia | 0066th in YSL East |
| Pelister | Bitola | SR Macedonia | 0033rd in YSL East |
| Prishtina | Pristina | SAP Kosovo | — |
| Olimpija | Ljubljana | SR Slovenia | 01212th in YSL West |
| Proleter Zrenjanin | Zrenjanin | SAP Vojvodina | 0066th in YSL West |
| Radnički Kragujevac | Kragujevac | SR Serbia | 0044th in YSL East |
| Sloboda Titovo Užice | Titovo Užice | SR Serbia | 0088th in YSL East |
| Sutjeska | Nikšić | SR Montenegro | — |
| Šibenik | Šibenik | SR Croatia | 0055th in YSL West |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Olimpija (C, P) | 38 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 63 | 37 | +26 | 46 | Promotion to Yugoslav First League |
| 2 | Borac Banja Luka (P) | 38 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 58 | 34 | +24 | 45 | Promotion to Yugoslav First League |
| 3 | Proleter Zrenjanin | 38 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 43 | |
| 4 | Kikinda | 38 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 61 | 45 | +16 | 42 | |
| 5 | Šibenik | 38 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 57 | 45 | +12 | 42 | |
| 6 | OFK Belgrade | 38 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 71 | 49 | +22 | 40 | |
| 7 | Borac Čačak | 38 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 49 | 54 | −5 | 35 | |
| 8 | Sutjeska Nikšić | 38 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 33 | |
| 9 | Liria | 38 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 40 | 44 | −4 | 33 | |
| 10 | Prishtina | 38 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 32 | |
| 11 | Mačva Šabac | 38 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 32 | |
| 12 | Pelister | 38 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 38 | 49 | −11 | 32 | |
| 13 | Sloboda Titovo Užice | 38 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 32 | |
| 14 | Dinamo Vinkovci | 38 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 31 | |
| 15 | Leotar | 38 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 31 | |
| 16 | GOŠK-Jug | 38 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 31 | |
| 17 | Radnički Kragujevac (R) | 38 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 43 | 54 | −11 | 27 | Relegation to Inter-Republic Leagues |
| 18 | Bačka BP (R) | 38 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 26 | Relegation to Inter-Republic Leagues |
| 19 | Novi Pazar (R) | 38 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 25 | Relegation to Inter-Republic Leagues |
| 20 | Belasica (R) | 38 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 34 | 76 | −42 | 22 | Relegation to Inter-Republic Leagues |
* ↑ Prishtina were docked 6 points due to match fixing in the last round of the previous season