# 2014–15 Israeli Premier League

The 2014–15 Israeli Premier League is the sixteenth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 73nd season of top-tier football in Israel. It began in the end of August 2014 and ended in May 2015. Maccabi Tel Aviv are the defending champions, having won their third Premier League title, and 20th championship last season.
Maccabi Tel Aviv became champions for the 21st time and 3rd consecutive time, and completed the first-ever treble in Israeli football, after winning the Cup and Toto Cup as well.

## Teams

A total of fourteen teams are competing in the league, including twelve sides from the 2013–14 season and two promoted team from the 2013–14 Liga Leumit.
Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon and Bnei Yehuda were relegated to the 2014–15 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2013–14 season in the bottom two places.
Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Petah Tikva were promoted after finishing the 2013–14 Liga Leumit in the top two places.

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Home City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 31,733 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Sakhnin | Doha Stadium | 8,500 |
| F.C. Ashdod | Ashdod | Yud-Alef Stadium | 7,800 |
| Hapoel Acre | Acre | Acre Stadium | 5,000 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Be'er Sheva | Vasermil Stadium | 13,000 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Haifa | Sammy Ofer Stadium | 30,942 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Petah Tikva | HaMoshava Stadium | 11,500 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Ra'anana | Netanya Stadium | 13,610 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Kiryat Shmona | Kiryat Shmona Stadium | 5,300 |
| Maccabi Haifa | Haifa | Sammy Ofer Stadium | 30,942 |
| Maccabi Netanya | Netanya | Netanya Stadium | 13,610 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Petah Tikva | HaMoshava Stadium | 11,500 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Hapoel Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv | Ironi Kiryat Shmona |
| Teddy Stadium | Bloomfield Stadium | Kiryat Shmona Stadium |
| Maccabi Netanya | Hapoel Haifa Maccabi Haifa | Maccabi Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva |
| Netanya Stadium | Sammy Ofer Stadium | HaMoshava Stadium |
| F.C. Ashdod | Bnei Sakhnin | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Hapoel Acre |
| Yud-Alef Stadium | Doha Stadium | Vasermil Stadium | Acre Stadium |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | President | Manager | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Eli Tabib | Guy Levy | Ofir Kriaf | Puma | itrader |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Mohammed Abu Yunes | Eli Cohen | Khaled Khalaila | Umbro | Toyga |
| F.C. Ashdod | Jacky Ben-Zaken | Nir Klinger | Ofir Martziano | Nike | |
| Hapoel Acre | Yehuda Barshishat | Shlomi Dora | David Goresh | Macron | Azrieli Group |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Alona Barkat | Elisha Levy | Elyaniv Barda | Kappa | Mobli |
| Hapoel Haifa | Yoav Katz | Tal Banin | Oshri Roash | Diadora | Hatama |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Doron Ben Dakon | Meni Koretski | Kobi Musa | Lotto | |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Asher Alon | Haim Silvas | Snir Shuker | Umbro | ME Tel Aviv |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | The Red Fans | Eli Cohen | Shay Abutbul | Umbro | Fujicom |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Izzy Sheratzky | Barak Bakhar | Shir Tzedek | Puma | Ituran |
| Maccabi Haifa | Ya'akov Shahar | Marco Balbul | Yossi Benayoun | Nike | Honda |
| Maccabi Netanya | Eli Segev | Ronny Levy | Eran Levy | Joma | Burgus Burger Bar |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Amos Luzon | Ran Ben Shimon | Naor Peser | Macron | Panorama North |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Mitchell Goldhar | Pako Ayestarán | Sheran Yeini | Adidas | |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Maccabi Haifa | Arik Benado | Sacked | 14 April 2014 | Pre-season | Aleksandar Stanojević | 1 May 2014 |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Ronny Levy | Sacked | 10 May 2014 | Pre-season | Meni Koretski | 10 May 2014 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Shlomi Dora | End of contract | 14 May 2014 | Pre-season | Reuven Atar | 14 May 2014 |
| Hapoel Acre | Yuval Naim | Sacked | | Pre-season | Alon Harazi | |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Ran Ben Shimon | Sacked | 26 May 2014 | Pre-season | Asi Domb | 27 May 2014 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Meni Koretski | Resigned | | Pre-season | Haim Silvas | |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Paulo Sousa | Signed by Basel | 28 May 2014 | Pre-season | Óscar García | 2 June 2014 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Yetav Luzon | Resigned | 11 June 2014 | Pre-season | Ran Ben Shimon | 12 June 2014 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Marco Balbul | End of contract | 19 June 2014 | Pre-season | Guy Levy | 19 June 2014 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Óscar García | Resigned | 26 August 2014 | Pre-season | Pako Ayestarán | 26 August 2014 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Guy Levy | Sacked | 5 December 2014 | 13th | Eli Cohen | 5 December 2014 |
| Maccabi Haifa | Aleksandar Stanojević | Resigned | 28 December 2014 | 4th | Marco Balbul | 28 December 2014 |
| Hapoel Acre | Alon Harazi | Resigned | 5 January 2015 | 14th | Shlomi Dora | 8 January 2015 |
| Maccabi Netanya | Yossi Mizrahi | Resigned | 14 January 2015 | 12th | Ronny Levy | 14 January 2015 |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Meni Koretski | Sacked | 30 January 2015 | 10th | Guy Levy | 30 January 2015 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Asi Domb | Sacked | 30 January 2015 | 8th | Eli Cohen | 30 January 2015 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Ido Bar-On | Sacked | 7 February 2015 | 13th | Meni Koretski | 7 February 2015 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Reuven Atar | Sacked | 16 February 2015 | 12th | Tal Banin | 16 February 2015 |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to five per team.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Non-visa Foreign | Former Players |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Claudemir | Liviu Antal | Dušan Matović | César Arzo | | | Žarko Korać |
| Bnie Sakhnin | Diogo Kachuba | Igor Jovanović | Miha Mevlja | | | Ahmad Abu Nahyeh$^3$ | Giannis Papadopoulos Milan Bojović Abraham Paz |
| F.C. Ashdod | Paty Yeye Lenkebe | Aliyu Abubakar | Juwon Oshaniwa | Yero Bello | Aleksandar Davidov | Nicolás Falczuk$^2$ | David Solari |
| Hapoel Acre | Emir Hadžić | Juliano Spadacio | Giannis Papadopoulos | Branislav Jovanović | | | Hamdi Salihi |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | William Soares | Austin Ejide | John Ogu | Ovidiu Hoban | Tomislav Pajović | Joakim Askling$^2$ | |
| Hapoel Haifa | Hamdi Salihi | Tosaint Ricketts | Přemysl Kovář | Tadas Kijanskas | Žarko Korać | Steven Cohen$^2$ | Darío Fernández Osei Mawuli$^2$ Mindaugas Kalonas |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Gaël Etock | Mirko Oremuš | Sékou Condé | Chimezie Mbah | Michael Tukura | Tvrtko Kale$^2$ | Akaki Khubutia |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Anthony Nwakaeme | Mamadou Thiam | Emmanuel Mbola | Evans Kangwa | | | Pedro Sass |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Apoula Edel | Lucas Sasha | Amido Baldé | Jürgen Colin | Abonime Izogbu | | Gaël Etock Francis Benjamin Harmony Ikande |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Kassio | David Manga | Mindaugas Panka | Touvarno Pinas | Rodgers Kola | | |
| Maccabi Haifa | Vladimir Stojković | Medo | Abraham Paz | Míchel | Rubén Rayos | | Edin Cocalić Mohamadou Idrissou |
| Maccabi Netanya | Romário Pires | Olarenwaju Kayode | Cristian Sîrghi | Gabriel Giurgiu | | | Dudu Cearense |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | David Solari | Daniel Dimov | Kostadin Hazurov | Ivan Herceg | Joachim Mununga | Bryan Gerzicich$^1$ | Nicolás Falczuk$^2$ Alan Gatagov |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Nosa Igiebor | Nikola Mitrović | Carlos García | Juan Pablo | Rade Prica | | |
In Italic: Players that left the club mid-season
The following do not fill a Visa position: $^1$Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained an Israeli passport or permanent residency, allowing them to play with Israeli status; $^2$Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but are eligible for Israeli citizenship due to Jewish ancestry;

## Regular season
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 53 | 20 | +33 | 54 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 2 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 47 | 24 | +23 | 49 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 3 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 47 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 4 | Beitar Jerusalem | 26 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 40 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 5 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 28 | 30 | −2 | 39 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 6 | Maccabi Haifa | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 37 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 7 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 23 | +1 | 34 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 8 | Maccabi Netanya | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 33 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 9 | Bnei Sakhnin | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 30 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 10 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 33 | −6 | 29 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 11 | F.C. Ashdod | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 27 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 12 | Hapoel Haifa | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 41 | −21 | 26 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 13 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 23 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 14 | Hapoel Acre | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 39 | −19 | 22 | Qualification for the relegation round |
* 1 2 Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv each deducted one point.

### Results

| Home \ Away | BEI | BnS | ASH | HAC | HBS | HHA | IKS | HPT | HRA | HTA | MHA | MNE | MPT | MTA |
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 1–0 | — | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| F.C. Ashdod | 3–3 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Hapoel Acre | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 3–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 1–3 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | — | 4–4 | 3–3 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–3 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | — |
* ↑ The match originally was abandoned after supporter violence while the score was 1–1. The Israel Football Association declared the match a 0–0 draw, with neither team receiving any points and closing the stands for four matches.

## Playoffs

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games):
Rounds :
| 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th |
| 1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4 | 1 – 2 5 – 3 6 – 4 | 2 – 6 3 – 1 4 – 5 | 1 – 4 2 – 3 6 – 5 | 3 – 6 4 – 2 5 – 1 | 6 – 1 5 – 2 4 – 3 | 2 – 1 3 – 5 4 – 6 | 6 – 2 1 – 3 5 – 4 | 3 – 2 4 – 1 5 – 6 | 6 – 3 2 – 4 1 – 5 |
| 7 – 11 8 – 13 9 – 12 10 – 14 | 7 – 8 13 – 9 12 – 10 11 – 14 | 8 – 11 9 – 7 10 – 13 14 – 12 | 8 – 9 7 – 10 13 – 14 11 – 12 | 9 – 11 10 – 8 14 – 7 12 – 13 | 9 – 10 8 – 14 7 – 12 11 – 13 | 10 – 11 14 – 9 12 – 8 13 – 7 | | | |

### Top playoff
#### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv (C) | 36 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 67 | 32 | +35 | 70 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 64 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 63 | 40 | +23 | 62 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Beitar Jerusalem | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 48 | 43 | +5 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Maccabi Haifa | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 50 | |
| 6 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 48 | |
* 1 2 Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem each deducted one point.
* 1 2 3 Since Maccabi Tel Aviv won the 2014–15 Israel State Cup, then the 2nd-positioned team will be awarded with entry to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.

#### Results

| Home \ Away | BEI | HBS | IKS | MHA | MPT | MTA |
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 4–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | — |

### Bottom playoff
#### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 7 | Bnei Sakhnin | 33 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 44 | |
| 8 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 33 | 12 | 8 | 13 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 42 | |
| 9 | Maccabi Netanya | 33 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 41 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 36 | −1 | 39 | |
| 11 | Hapoel Acre | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 28 | 42 | −14 | 38 | |
| 12 | Hapoel Haifa | 33 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 25 | 47 | −22 | 34 | |
| 13 | Hapoel Petah Tikva (R) | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 32 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |
| 14 | F.C. Ashdod (R) | 33 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 31 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |
* ↑ Hapoel Tel Aviv deducted one point.

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ASH | BnS | HAC | HHA | HPT | HRA | HTA | MNE |
| F.C. Ashdod | — | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | — | — | — |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 1–1 | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | — |
| Hapoel Acre | — | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | — | — |
| Hapoel Haifa | — | — | — | — | 3–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | — | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | — | 4–2 | — | — |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 4–0 | — | — | 1–2 | — | — | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | — | 1–2 | — | — | 2–1 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of matches played on 1 June 2015.
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Eran Zahavi | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 27 |
| 2 | Mohammad Ghadir | Bnei Sakhnin | 16 |
| 3 | Maor Buzaglo | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 13 |
| 3 | Olarenwaju Kayode | Maccabi Netanya | 13 |
| 5 | Roi Kahat | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 12 |
| 6 | Shlomi Arbeitman | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 11 |
| 6 | Hamdi Salihi | Hapoel Haifa | 11 |
| 6 | Rodgers Kola | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 11 |
| 6 | Eran Levy | Maccabi Netanya | 11 |
Source: Israel Football Association