# 2019–20 Belgian First Division A

The 2019–20 Belgian First Division A (officially known as Jupiler Pro League) was the 117th season of top-tier football in Belgium.
On 2 April 2020, the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors agreed to propose to cancel the season early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Should this proposal be accepted, Club Brugge will be awarded the title. In the meantime UEFA has threatened to ban teams in Europe in case their respective leagues were terminated early without trying to have all remaining matches completed. The decision of whether to accept this proposal was initially meant to be decided by a vote at a meeting on 15 April 2020, but had been postponed three times.
The proposal was finally accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, confirming Club Brugge as 2019–20 First Division A champions.

## Team changes

As 2018–19 Belgian First Division B champions, Mechelen would have replaced relegated Lokeren. However, as part of the 2017–19 Belgian football fraud scandal, Mechelen were found guilty of match-fixing at the end of the 2017–18 season, resulting in the club being relegated back to the First Division B and runners-up Beerschot taking the spot of Mechelen instead. Mechelen appealed the decision with the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sports, which confirmed that KV Mechelen was indeed guilty of match-fixing, but that according to the rules of the Royal Belgian Football Association, relegation is no longer a possible penalty as the match-fixing occurred more than one season ago. KV Mechelen was thus allowed to play in the Belgian First Division A, but did get banned from participating in the UEFA Europa League and the Belgian Cup for one season.

## Format change

While the regular season remains unchanged, the end of season play-offs have been altered somewhat, specifically the Europa League play-offs will now be played by 16 instead of 12 teams. Taking part will be the bottom ten teams together with the six top teams from the Belgian First Division B, to be divided in four groups of four teams. The four group winners will play semi-finals and a final to determine the team which will play the fourth (or fifth) placed team from the championship play-offs for the remaining ticket into the UEFA Europa League. This change allows both the team relegating from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A and the 2019–20 Belgian First Division B champion to take part in the Europa League play-offs, allowing these teams to bridge the gap of nearly six months without any matches as used to be the case in previous seasons.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Matricule | Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| 35 | Anderlecht | Anderlecht | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | 21,500 |
| 1 | Antwerp | Antwerp | Bosuilstadion | 12,975 |
| 12 | Cercle Brugge | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 |
| 22 | Charleroi | Charleroi | Stade du Pays de Charleroi | 14,000 |
| 3 | Club Brugge | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 |
| 4276 | Eupen | Eupen | Kehrwegstadion | 08,363 |
| 322 | Genk | Genk | Luminus Arena | 24,956 |
| 7 | Gent | Ghent | Ghelamco Arena | 20,000 |
| 19 | Kortrijk | Kortrijk | Guldensporen Stadion | 09,399 |
| 25 | Mechelen | Mechelen | AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne | 16,700 |
| 216 | Mouscron | Mouscron | Stade Le Canonnier | 10,571 |
| 31 | Oostende | Ostend | Versluys Arena | 08,432 |
| 373 | Sint-Truiden | Sint-Truiden | Stayen | 14,600 |
| 16 | Standard Liège | Liège | Stade Maurice Dufrasne | 30,023 |
| 4068 | Waasland-Beveren | Beveren | Freethiel Stadion | 08,190 |
| 5381 | Zulte Waregem | Waregem | Regenboogstadion | 12,500 |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsors |
| Anderlecht | Vincent Kompany (player/manager) and Franky Vercauteren | Joma | BNP Paribas Fortis |
| Antwerp | László Bölöni | Jako | Ghelamco |
| Cercle Brugge | Bernd Storck | Erima [de] | Napoleon Games |
| Charleroi | Karim Belhocine | Kappa | Proximus |
| Club Brugge | Philippe Clement | Macron | Unibet |
| Eupen | Beñat San José | Nike | Aspire Academy |
| Excel Mouscron | Bernd Hollerbach | Uhlsport | Star Casino |
| Genk | Hannes Wolf | Nike | Beobank |
| Gent | Jess Thorup | Craft | Vdk bank |
| Kortrijk | Yves Vanderhaeghe | Jako | AGO Jobs & HR |
| Mechelen | Wouter Vrancken | Jartazi | Telenet |
| Oostende | Adnan Čustović | Joma | DIAZ Be |
| Sint-Truiden | Miloš Kostić | Umbro | Golden Palace |
| Standard Liège | Michel Preud'homme | New Balance | VOO |
| Waasland-Beveren | Dirk Geeraerd (caretaker) | Uhlsport | Star Casino |
| Zulte-Waregem | Francky Dury | Patrick | Willy Naessens Group |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Oostende | Franky Van der Elst (caretaker) | Replaced | End of 2018–19 season | Pre-season | Kåre Ingebrigtsen | 6 May 2019 |
| Mouscron | Bernd Storck | End of contract | End of 2018–19 season | Pre-season | Bernd Hollerbach | 22 May 2019 |
| Anderlecht | Karim Belhocine (caretaker) | Replaced | End of 2018–19 season | Pre-season | Simon Davies and Vincent Kompany | 25 May 2019 and 19 May 2019 |
| Club Brugge | Ivan Leko | End of contract | End of 2018–19 season | Pre-season | Philippe Clement | 24 May 2019 |
| Genk | Philippe Clement | Moved to Club Brugge | End of 2018–19 season | Pre-season | Felice Mazzù | 3 June 2019 |
| Cercle Brugge | José Jeunechamps (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | End of 2018–19 season | Pre-season | Fabien Mercadal | 19 June 2019 |
| Charleroi | Felice Mazzù | Moved to Genk | End of 2018–19 season | Pre-season | Karim Belhocine | 21 June 2019 |
| Eupen | Claude Makélélé | Mutual consent | 14 June 2019 | Pre-season | Beñat San José | 24 June 2019 |
| Waasland-Beveren | Adnan Čustović | Sacked | 26 August 2019 | 16th | Dirk Geeraerd (caretaker) | 26 August 2019 |
| Waasland-Beveren | Dirk Geeraerd (caretaker) | Caretaker replaced | 2 September 2019 | 16th | Arnauld Mercier | 2 September 2019 |
| Anderlecht | Simon Davies | Replaced | 3 October 2019 | 13th | Jonas De Roeck (caretaker) | 3 October 2019 |
| Anderlecht | Jonas De Roeck (caretaker) | Replaced | 7 October 2019 | 13th | Franky Vercauteren | 7 October 2019 |
| Cercle Brugge | Fabien Mercadal | Sacked | 7 October 2019 | 16th | Bernd Storck | 12 October 2019 |
| Genk | Felice Mazzù | Sacked | 12 November 2019 | 9th | Hannes Wolf | 18 November 2019 |
| Sint-Truiden | Marc Brys | Sacked | 25 November 2019 | 11th | Nicky Hayen (caretaker) | 25 November 2019 |
| Oostende | Kåre Ingebrigtsen | Became manager at APOEL FC | 28 December 2019 | 14th | Dennis van Wijk | 31 December 2019 |
| Sint-Truiden | Nicky Hayen (caretaker) | Caretaker replaced | 2 January 2020 | 11th | Miloš Kostić | 2 January 2020 |
| Mouscron | Bernd Hollerbach | Temporarily replaced due to illness | 5 February 2020 | 11th | Philippe Saint-Jean (caretaker) | 5 February 2020 |
| Waasland-Beveren | Arnauld Mercier | Sacked | 23 February 2020 | 16th | Dirk Geeraerd (caretaker) | 23 February 2020 |
| Mouscron | Philippe Saint-Jean (caretaker) | Hollerbach recovered from illness | 25 February 2020 | 10th | Bernd Hollerbach | 25 February 2020 |
| Oostende | Dennis van Wijk | Sacked | 2 March 2020 | 15th | Adnan Čustović | 3 March 2020 |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 29 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 58 | 14 | +44 | 70 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Gent | 29 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 59 | 34 | +25 | 55 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Charleroi | 29 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 49 | 23 | +26 | 54 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Antwerp (Y) | 29 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 5 | Standard Liège | 29 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 47 | 32 | +15 | 49 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 6 | Mechelen | 29 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 44 | |
| 7 | Genk | 29 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 44 | |
| 8 | Anderlecht | 29 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 45 | 29 | +16 | 43 | |
| 9 | Zulte Waregem | 29 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 36 | |
| 10 | Excel Mouscron | 29 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 36 | |
| 11 | Kortrijk | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 40 | 44 | −4 | 33 | |
| 12 | Sint-Truiden | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 33 | |
| 13 | Eupen | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 28 | 51 | −23 | 30 | |
| 14 | Cercle Brugge | 29 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 27 | 54 | −27 | 23 | |
| 15 | Oostende | 29 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 22 | |
| 16 | Waasland-Beveren (T) | 29 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 21 | 60 | −39 | 20 | Reprieved from relegation |
* ↑ Antwerp qualified for the Europa League group stage as the 2019–20 Belgian Cup winners.
* ↑ Waasland-Beveren would have been relegated due to finishing last, however following legal proceedings the Belgian Pro League eventually voted in favour of expanding the 2020–21 Belgian First Division A to 18 teams, meaning Waasland-Beveren was spared and both OH Leuven and Beerschot were promoted from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division B.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AND | ANT | CER | CHA | CLU | EUP | EXM | GNK | GNT | KVK | KVM | OOS | STA | STR | W-B | ZWA |
| Anderlecht | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 7–0 |
| Antwerp | 0–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| Cercle Brugge | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Charleroi | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Club Brugge | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| Eupen | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Excel Mouscron | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Genk | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 |
| Gent | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Kortrijk | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Mechelen | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| Oostende | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | — | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Standard Liège | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Sint-Truiden | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Waasland-Beveren | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 |
| Zulte Waregem | 1–2 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 5–1 | 5–0 | — |
* ↑ The match between Sint-Truiden and Genk was suspended with the score at 3–3 due to supporter violence. Initially, no points were awarded and the Belgian FA demanded to replay the match entirely behind closed doors and further penalize both clubs with an additional match behind closed doors, a two points penalty and a fine of 5000 Euro. On 4 December 2019, after both clubs had appealed the decision citing an incorrectly followed procedure in which the referee had stopped the match too soon, the final verdict was that the 3–3 result stood as final and both clubs were penalized 5000 Euro and were forced to play their next home match with part of their stand closed.