# 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League

The 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League was the 60th season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1934. The league started on 11 September 2021 and ended on 4 June 2022.
It was the second season to feature a "split" format, following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, in which the season was divided into two phases. Ahed won their eighth league title undefeated. Defending champions Ansar, who won their 14th title in 2020–21, finished second. Sporting, who were newly promoted, and Shabab Bourj, who withdrew from the league, were relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.

## Summary
### Regulations

Each club had to involve one player under the age of 22 for at least 600 minutes, two players for at least 800 combined minutes, and three players for at least 1,200 combined minutes. Also, each club was allowed a maximum of eight players over the age of 30, with only five being able to be fielded in a game. In case a club was to not meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have three points deducted from their total in the league.
Due to the economic situation in Lebanon, no foreign players were allowed to play in the league in the first half of the season. In the second half, teams were allowed to contract one foreign player, for the first time since October 2019.

### Format

Following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, the 2021–22 season consisted of two phases: in the first phase, each team played against one another once. In the second phase, the 12 teams were divided into two groups based on their position in the first phase; the teams carried over their point tally from the first phase. After the first phase was completed, clubs could not move out of their own half in the league, even if they achieved more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.
The top six teams played against each other twice, as opposed to the previous season where they played each other once; the champion automatically qualified to the 2023–24 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs—assuming they met the criteria set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The runners-up instead directly qualified to the 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage—as long as the champions met the AFC criteria for the AFC Champions League. The bottom six teams also played against each other twice, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.

### Events

Following Nejmeh's refusal to play Ahed on 9 January 2022, the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) decided to assign a 3–0 walkover win to Ahed, deducted 6 points from Nejmeh, and fined them £L10 million. Nejmeh's decision not to play came as a form of protest against the refereeing in their game against Tadamon Sour one week prior.
Following Shabab Bourj's failure to comply to FIFA's request for them to compensate former player Lorougnon Christ Remi, and rumours of a merger with Safa, the club withdrew from the league. On 30 May 2022, the LFA announced that Shabab Bourj were fined £L12.5 million, were relegated to the Second Division, and that all of their matches in the championship round were voided.

## Teams

Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League season and the two teams promoted from the Lebanese Second Division.

### Stadiums and locations

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Ahed | Beirut (Ouzai) | Ahed Stadium | 2,000 |
| Akhaa Ahli Aley | Aley | Amin AbdelNour Stadium | 3,500 |
| Ansar | Beirut (Tariq El Jdideh) | Ansar Stadium | — |
| Bourj | Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) | Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium | 1,500 |
| Nejmeh | Beirut (Ras Beirut) | Rafic Hariri Stadium | 5,000 |
| Safa | Beirut (Wata El Msaytbeh) | Safa Stadium | 4,000 |
| Sagesse | Beirut (Achrafieh) | Sin El Fil Stadium | — |
| Shabab Bourj | Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) | Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium | 1,500 |
| Shabab Sahel | Beirut (Haret Hreik) | Shabab Al Sahel Stadium | — |
| Sporting | Beirut (Ras Beirut) | Rafic Hariri Stadium | 5,000 |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | Sour Municipal Stadium | 6,500 |
| Tripoli | Tripoli | Tripoli Municipal Stadium | 22,000 |

### Foreign players

Lebanese clubs were allowed to contract a foreign player for the second half of the season.
| Team | Player |
| Ahed | Ahmed Akaïchi |
| Akhaa Ahli Aley | Dennis Tetteh |
| Ansar | Ichaka Diarra |
| Bourj | Bersyl Obassi |
| Nejmeh | Pedro Kadri |
| Safa | Nicholas Cofie |
| Sagesse | Boucounta Sarr |
| Shabab Bourj | |
| Shabab Sahel | Christian Obiozor |
| Sporting | Junior Mala |
| Tadamon Sour | |
| Tripoli | Joseph Ansah |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Ahed (C) | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 6 | +31 | 47 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 2 | Ansar | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 34 | 13 | +21 | 35 | |
| 3 | Bourj | 19 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 34 | |
| 4 | Shabab Sahel | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 27 | |
| 5 | Shabab Bourj (R) | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 14 | Relegation to Lebanese Second Division |
| 6 | Tadamon Sour | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 28 | −13 | 14 | |
| 7 | Nejmeh | 21 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 29 | 16 | +13 | 30 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 8 | Tripoli | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 29 | |
| 9 | Sagesse | 21 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 32 | −15 | 27 | |
| 10 | Akhaa Ahli Aley | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 25 | |
| 11 | Safa | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 29 | −10 | 22 | |
| 12 | Sporting (R) | 21 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 36 | −20 | 11 | Relegation to Lebanese Second Division |
* ↑ Teams played each other once (11 matches), before the league was split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six), where each team played the other teams in their group twice (10 matches).
* 1 2 Nejmeh qualified for the AFC Cup group stage as 2021–22 Lebanese FA Cup winners.
* 1 2 Following Shabab Bourj's withdrawal from the league, all their matches in the championship round were voided. They were relegated instead of 11th-placed Safa.
* 1 2 Head-to-head results: Shabab Bourj 0–0 Tadamon Sour
* ↑ Nejmeh forfeited in matchday 9 and were deducted 6 points. Ahed were awarded a 3–0 walkover win.

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mahmoud Siblini | Nejmeh | 10 |
| 1 | Fadel Antar | Shabab Sahel | 10 |
| 3 | Boucounta Sarr | Sagesse | 6 |
| 3 | Hussein Jawad Khalife | Shabab Sahel | 6 |
| 3 | Ahmad Hijazi | Ansar | 6 |
| 3 | Karim Darwich | Ansar | 6 |
| 7 | Said Awada | Akhaa Ahli Aley | 6 |
| 7 | Mohamad Kdouh | Ahed | 6 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Fadel Antar | Shabab Sahel | Safa | 5–0 | 18 September 2021 |
| Fadel Antar$^4$ | Shabab Sahel | Tripoli | 4–1 | 25 September 2021 |
| Mahmoud Siblini | Nejmeh | Akhaa Ahli Aley | 3–0 | 11 March 2022 |
| Hussein Jawad Khalife | Shabab Sahel | Tadamon Sour | 4–1 | 20 May 2022 |

##### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Mostafa Matar | Ahed | 11 |
| 2 | Nazih Assaad | Ansar | 10 |
| 3 | Ali Sabeh | Nejmeh | 8 |
| 3 | Shaker Wehbe | Akhaa Ahli Aley | 8 |
| 5 | Ahmad Korhani | Tripoli | 7 |
| 6 | Hassan Moghnieh | Bourj | 6 |