2014–15 Belgian Pro League

Jupiler Pro League
Season 2014–15
Champions K.A.A. Gent
1st league title
Relegated Lierse
Cercle Brugge
Champions League Gent
Club Brugge
Europa League Anderlecht
Standard Liège
Charleroi
Matches played 296
Goals scored 848 (2.86 per match)
Top goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrović (20 goals)
Biggest home win Charleroi 6–0 Lierse (regular season)
K.R.C. Genk 7–1 Waasland-Beveren (UEL play-offs)
Biggest away win Lierse 0–6 Club Brugge
Highest scoring Standard Liège 3–5 Oostende
Longest winning run 5 games[1]
Kortrijk
Longest unbeaten run 19 games[2]
Club Brugge
Longest winless run 13 games[3]
LierseS.K.
Longest losing run 10 games[4]
Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz

The 2014–15 season of the Belgian Pro League (known as the Jupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons) is the 112th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It started on 27 July 2014 and finished in May 2015. K.A.A. Gent won the league, making it the first championship title in their 115-year history.[5]

Teams

Following the 2013–14 Belgian Pro League, R.A.E.C. Mons were relegated to the 2014–15 Belgian Second Division after losing their relegation playoff series against OH Leuven. Mons is replaced by 2013–14 Belgian Second Division champions K.V.C. Westerlo, who returned to the highest level after their relegation during the 2011–12 season.

Mouscron-Péruwelz replaces OH Leuven as they won the 2014 Belgian Second Division Final Round head of K.A.S. Eupen, Sint-TruidenV.V. and OH Leuven.

Stadia and locations

Club Location Venue Capacity
Anderlecht Anderlecht Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 21,000
Cercle Brugge Brugge Jan Breydel Stadium 29,945
Charleroi Charleroi Stade du Pays de Charleroi 25,000
Club Brugge Brugge Jan Breydel Stadium 29,945
K.R.C. Genk Genk Cristal Arena 24,900
K.A.A. Gent Ghent Ghelamco Arena 20,000
Kortrijk Kortrijk Guldensporen Stadion 9,500
Lierse Lier Herman Vanderpoortenstadion 14,538
Lokeren Lokeren Daknamstadion 10,000
Mechelen Mechelen Argosstadion Achter de Kazerne 13,123
Mouscron-Péruwelz Mouscron Stade Le Canonnier 10,800
Oostende Ostend Albertpark 8,125
Standard Liège Liège Stade Maurice Dufrasne 30,000
Waasland-Beveren Beveren Freethiel Stadion 13,290
Westerlo Westerlo Het Kuipje 7,982
Zulte Waregem Waregem Regenboogstadion 8,500

Personnel and kits

Club Chairman Manager Manufacturer Sponsors
Anderlecht Belgium Roger Vanden Stock Albania Besnik Hasi adidas BNP Paribas Fortis
Cercle Brugge Belgium Paul Vanhaecke Netherlands Dennis van Wijk Masita ADMB
Charleroi Belgium Fabien Debecq Belgium Felice Mazzu Maps belgacom
Club Brugge Belgium Bart Verhaeghe Belgium Michel Preud'homme Nike proximus
Genk Belgium Herbert Houben Scotland Alex McLeish Nike beobank
Gent Belgium Michel Louwagie Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck Masita/Jartazi VDK
Kortrijk Belgium Joseph Allijns Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe Jako AGO Jobs
Lierse Egypt Maged Samy France Olivier Guillou Jako Wadi Degla
Lokeren Belgium Roger Lambrecht Belgium Peter Maes Jartazi QTeam
Mechelen Belgium Johan Timmermans Serbia Aleksandar Janković Kappa Telenet
Mouscron-Péruwelz Belgium Edward Van Daele France Fernando Da Cruz Nike TradeCo
Oostende Belgium Marc Coucke Belgium Frederik Vanderbiest Joma Versluys
Standard Liège Belgium Roland Duchâtelet Belgium José Riga Joma BASE
Waasland-Beveren Belgium Jozef Van Remoortel Belgium Guido Brepoels Jako Remo Frit
Westerlo Belgium Herman Wijnants Netherlands Harm van Veldhoven Saller Soudal
Zulte Waregem Belgium Willy Naessens Belgium Francky Dury Patrick Record Bank

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Gent Belgium Peter Balette Replaced End of 2013–14 season[6] Pre-season Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck 5 May 2014[6]
Kortrijk Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck Signed by Gent End of 2013–14 season[6] Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe 28 May 2014[7]
Mechelen Belgium Franky Vercauteren Resigned End of 2013–14 season[8] Serbia Aleksandar Janković 8 May 2014[9]
Waasland-Beveren Belgium Bob Peeters Resigned End of 2013–14 season[10] Belgium Ronny Van Geneugden 28 May 2014[11]
Genk Belgium Emilio Ferrera Sacked 29 July 2014[12] 11th Scotland Alex McLeish 22 August 2014[13]
Lierse Netherlands Stanley Menzo Sacked 31 August 2014[14] 16th Slovenia Slaviša Stojanovič 5 September 2014[15]
Cercle Brugge Belgium Lorenzo Staelens Sacked 6 October 2014[16] 14th Iceland Arnar Viðarsson 6 October 2014[16]
Standard Liège Israel Guy Luzon Sacked 20 October 2014[17] 11th Serbia Ivan Vukomanović[nb 1] 5 November 2014[18]
Mouscron-Péruwelz France Rachid Chihab Sacked 29 December 2014[19] 12th France Fernando da Cruz 29 December 2014[19]
Waasland-Beveren Belgium Ronny Van Geneugden Sacked 30 December 2014[20] 14th Belgium Guido Brepoels 5 January 2015[21]
Westerlo Netherlands Dennis van Wijk Sacked 3 January 2015[22] 13th Netherlands Harm van Veldhoven 6 January 2015[23]
Lierse Slovenia Slaviša Stojanovič Resigned 28 January 2015[24] 16th Belgium Herman Helleputte 28 January 2015[24]
Lierse Belgium Herman Helleputte Resigned 30 January 2015[25] 16th France Olivier Guillou 30 January 2015[26]
Standard Liège Serbia Ivan Vukomanović Replaced 2 February 2015[27] 5th Belgium José Riga 2 February 2015[27]
Cercle Brugge Iceland Arnar Viðarsson Sacked 18 March 2015[28] Relegation Playoff, 1st Netherlands Dennis van Wijk 18 March 2015[28]

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Club Brugge 30 17 10 3 69 28 +41 61 Qualification to Championship play-offs
2 Gent 30 16 9 5 52 29 +23 57
3 Anderlecht 30 16 9 5 51 30 +21 57
4 Standard Liège 30 16 5 9 49 39 +10 53
5 Kortrijk 30 16 3 11 54 35 +19 51
6 Charleroi 30 14 7 9 44 31 +13 49
7 Genk 30 13 10 7 38 28 +10 49 Qualification to Europa League play-offs
8 Lokeren 30 10 12 8 38 32 +6 42
9 Mechelen 30 10 11 9 37 39 2 41
10 Oostende 30 11 5 14 40 52 12 38
11 Westerlo 30 8 9 13 42 63 21 33
12 Zulte Waregem 30 8 7 15 41 54 13 31
13 Mouscron-Péruwelz 30 7 5 18 32 51 19 26
14 Waasland-Beveren 30 7 5 18 30 49 19 26
15 Cercle Brugge 30 6 6 18 21 45 24 24 Qualification to the Relegation play-offs
16 Lierse 30 5 7 18 30 63 33 22
Source: Belgian Pro League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of matches won; if teams are still tied a play-off is organised.

Positions by round

Note: The classification was made after the weekend (or midweek) of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent the real evolution in standings.

  • On matchday 11, the match between Standard and Zulte Waregem was stopped by the referee due to supporter violence with only 89 minutes played, with Zulte Waregem leading 1–2.[29] The 'commission for disputes' decided on 28 October (between matchdays 12 and 13) that the result would be changed to a 0–5 away win, Standard was to pay a fine of €5000 and play one match behind closed doors.[30] Standard filed objections against this ruling and the Belgian Sportsarbitrage finally ruled on 10 December that the 1–2 result would stand, between matchdays 18 and 19. The fine of €5000 was kept, but the match behind closed doors was dropped.[31]
  • On 27 December 2014, the final day of matchday 21, the match between Genk and Oostende was postponed due to snow. It was immediately rescheduled to 3 February 2015, between matchdays 24 and 25.[32]

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Club Brugge432366656422232111111111111111
Gent852223222233324334565434433332
Anderlecht221111111111111223222222222223
Standard Liège115788118811129765787876655555454
Kortrijk1313111115101414129681086542433343344545
Charleroi16151616139131011121110111210878754576776676
Genk1112141410111299876557666347767667767
Lokeren1098677534345443455688888888888
Mechelen2810129128117797899121212131311111212121210999
Oostende13161283434568119101199999999111199111010
Westerlo7444457635546781010111212131211991112101111
Zulte Waregem466101213151515161616161614141414111010101010101011121212
Mouscron-Péruwelz111095524710101012121112111110101112131313131415151313
Waasland-Beveren131415151615101314131415151313131313141414151515151313131414
Cercle Brugge8111313111491213141513131415151615151515141414141514141515
Lierse47691416161616151314141516161516161616161616161616161616

Results

Home \ Away[1] AND CER CHABRUGNKGNTKVKLIELOKKVMMOUKVOSTAWBEWESZWA
Anderlecht 32 10 22 00 12 20 30 11 11 31 30 02 10 40 00
Cercle Brugge 02 10 03 01 00 04 12 10 23 21 01 01 10 12 22
Charleroi 31 02 00 10 00 02 60 10 20 20 20 01 22 23 21
Club Brugge 22 11 10 41 22 50 10 11 11 30 20 30 42 50 21
Genk 01 11 11 11 32 30 30 00 30 20 11 02 10 31 32
Gent 02 40 22 21 00 01 21 11 31 10 31 12 41 40 31
Kortrijk 23 10 00 20 11 23 10 23 30 30 02 23 21 60 31
Lierse 22 21 02 06 02 01 00 11 01 22 20 23 11 33 31
Lokeren 12 00 52 13 11 33 12 20 32 10 31 11 30 00 21
Mechelen 11 11 00 31 31 00 12 21 01 10 00 10 20 52 11
Mouscron-Péruwelz 42 40 02 14 12 13 03 21 22 11 01 52 10 10 01
Oostende 02 20 13 22 11 13 17 21 01 20 00 32 43 40 13
Standard Liège 20 10 30 13 10 01 02 22 20 20 30 35 32 22 122
Waasland-Beveren 02 10 13 02 01 01 10 20 00 22 21 10 02 11 13
Westerlo 22 10 23 13 12 00 21 61 10 11 13 30 11 12 22
Zulte Waregem 02 12 13 11 20 21 20 23 10 23 11 14 11 14 13

Source: Belgian Pro League
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
2 The match was abandoned after 89 minutes due to Standard Liège supporter violence, with Zulte Waregem at that time leading 1–2. Standard Liège was subsequently given a 0–5 loss and forced to play one match behind closed doors.[30] Standard however objected this ruling and after revision by the Belgian Sportsarbitrage, it was decided that the 1–2 result stood and that Standard was fined €5000. The one match behind closed doors penalty was dropped.[31]
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship Playoff

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Club Brugge 31 points, Gent 29, Anderlecht 29, Standard 27, Kortrijk 26 and Charleroi 25. Had any ties occurred at the end of the playoffs, the half point would have been deducted if it was added. However, as all six teams received the half point bonus, this did not make a difference this season.

Playoff table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GNT CLU AND STA CHA KOR
1 Gent (C) 10 6 2 2 18 11 +7 49 Qualification to Champions League group stage 2–2 2–1 2–0 1–1 2–0
2 Club Brugge 10 5 1 4 16 16 0 47 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round 2–3 2–1 2–1 3–1 1–0
3 Anderlecht 10 5 2 3 18 13 +5 46 Qualification to Europa League group stage[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 5–1
4 Standard Liège 10 4 1 5 14 13 +1 40 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round 1–3 1–0 3–1 2–0 4–0
5 Charleroi 10 3 2 5 13 15 2 36 Qualification to Testmatches to Europa League[lower-alpha 2] 2–1 2–3 0–1 1–0 5–2
6 Kortrijk 10 2 2 6 11 22 11 34 0–1 2–0 2–2 3–1 1–1
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points after deduction of (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) number of wins; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) number of away goals scored; 7) number of away wins.[33]
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Since winners of the 2014–15 Belgian Cup, Club Brugge, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the spot awarded to the Cup winner (Europa League group stage) was passed to the third-placed team and the other spots were adjusted accordingly.
  2. The team finishing in fifth place, Charleroi, will play the testmatches against the winner of the Belgian Europa League playoff final, for a spot in the Europa League second qualifying round.

Positions by round

Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal amount of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.

Team ╲ RoundInitial12345678910
Gent22222211111
Club Brugge11111123322
Anderlecht33333332233
Standard Liège44456654444
Charleroi66664565555
Kortrijk55545446666

Source:

Europa League Playoff

Group A contains the teams finishing the regular season in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14. The teams that finish in positions 8, 10, 11 and 13 were placed in Group B.

Key to colours in group tables
Group winners advance to the Final

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification KVM GNK ZWA W-B
1 Mechelen 6 5 0 1 14 3 +11 15 Playoff Final 4–0 3–0 4–1
2 Genk 6 5 0 1 14 7 +7 15 1–0 1–0 7–1
3 Zulte Waregem 6 1 1 4 6 10 4 4 0–1 2–3 2–2
4 Waasland-Beveren 6 0 1 5 5 19 14 1 1–2 0–2 0–2
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LOK RMP OOS WES
1 Lokeren 6 4 1 1 19 9 +10 13 Playoff Final 2–1 6–1 1–1
2 Mouscron-Péruwelz 6 3 1 2 9 8 +1 10 1–5 2–0 1–1
3 Oostende 6 2 0 4 6 12 6 6 1–2 0–1 2–0
4 Westerlo 6 1 2 3 7 12 5 5 4–3 0–3 1–2
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference

Europa League playoff final

The winners of both playoff groups, Mechelen and Lokeren, compete in a two-legged match to play the fourth-placed team of the championship playoff, called Testmatch. The winners of this Testmatch will be granted entry to the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

Lokeren 2–2 Mechelen
Ngolok  34', 56' Report Veselinović  11'
Naessens  49'
Attendance: 5,763
Referee: Joeri van de Velde

Mechelen 2–1 Lokeren
Hanni  6'
Kosanović  56'
Report Marić  90+2' (pen.)
Attendance: 6,340
Referee: Frederik Geldhof

Mechelen won 4–3 on aggregate.

Testmatches Europa League

The Europa League playoff final will be played over two legs between the Europa league playoff final winners, Mechelen, and the fifth-placed finisher of the championship playoff, Charleroi. The winners qualifies for the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

Mechelen 2–1 Charleroi
Cissé  42'
Kosanović  86'
Report Geraerts  55'

Charleroi 2–0 Mechelen
Marinos  69'
Ndongala  89'
Referee: Bart Vertenten

Charleroi wins 3-2 on aggregate

Relegation Playoff

The teams that finished in the last two positions will face each other in the relegation playoff. Lierse was sure of ending up in the relegation playoff after losing away to Gent on 7 March 2015, while Cercle Brugge qualified one week later after losing 2–3 at home to Mechelen.

The winner of this playoff will play the second division playoff with three Belgian Second Division teams, with only the winner of that playoff playing at the highest level the next season. Lierse failed to win the Belgian Second Division playoff resulting in their relegation, in addition to Cercle Brugge.

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Lierse (R) 4 3 0 1 8 4 +4 9 Belgian Second Division Final Round
2 Cercle Brugge (R) 4 1 0 3 4 8 4 6 Relegation to 2015-16 Belgian Second Division

Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Head-to-Head: used when head-to-head record is used to rank tied teams.

The matches in the table below were played from left to right:

Home \ Away[1] LIE CER LIECERLIE
Cercle Brugge 23 02 2
Lierse 01 31

Source: soccerway.com
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
2 Match not played as Cercle Brugge could no longer overtake Lierse in the standings. In case of a tie, Lierse would have still ranked above Cercle Brugge due to the number of matches won.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Source: Sport.be (in Dutch)

Up to and including matches played on 24 May 2015.

Top scorers

Position Player Club Goals
1 Serbia Aleksandar Mitrović Anderlecht 20
2 Croatia Ivan Santini Kortrijk 15
3 Belgium Renaud Emond Waasland-Beveren 14
Belgium Geoffrey Mujangi Bia Standard Liège
5 Belgium Laurent Depoitre Gent 13
Colombia José Izquierdo Club Brugge
Serbia Dalibor Veselinović Mechelen
8 France Teddy Chevalier Kortrijk 12
Mali Abdoulay Diaby Mouscron-Péruwelz
Switzerland Mijat Marić Lokeren

Hat-tricks

Key
4 Player scored four goals
* The home team
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Chile Nicolás CastilloClub Brugge*Westerlo5–09 November 2014
Nigeria Moses SimonGentLokeren*3–31 February 2015
Croatia Ivan Santini4Kortrijk*Westerlo6–021 February 2015
Costa Rica John Jairo RuizOostendeZulte Waregem*1–415 March 2015
Belgium Zinho GanoMouscron-PéruwelzWesterlo*0–34 April 2015

Notes

  1. Vukomanović had initially been appointed as caretaker manager following the sacking of Guy Luzon on 20 October 2014, but was appointed head coach on 5 November 2014 until the end of the season, due to good results.

References

  1. "Langste winning streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  2. "Langste non-losing streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  3. "Langste non-winning streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. "Langste losing streak". Sport.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  5. "Gent end 115-year wait for Belgian title". uefa.com. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "Vanhaezebrouck:"Back to the top with Gent" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-05.
  7. "Kortrijk stelt assistent Vanderhaeghe voor als nieuwe trainer" [Kortrijk presents assistant Vanderhaeghe as new head coach] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-06-03.
  8. "KV Mechelen and Vercauteren say goodbye" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-05.
  9. "KV Mechelen teams up with Aleksandar Janković" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-08.
  10. "Peeters terminates contract with Waasland-Beveren" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-23.
  11. "Ronny Van Geneugden new trainer of Waasland-Beveren" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-05-28.
  12. "Racing Genk sacks coach Ferrera after one matchday" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-07-29.
  13. "Scotsman Alex McLeish is the new Genk trainer" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-08-22.
  14. "Lierse kicks Menzo to the curb" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-08-31.
  15. "New Lierse-coach:"Belgium is attractive due to the Red Devils"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-09-05.
  16. 1 2 "Cercle Brugge ends coöperation with Staelens" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-06.
  17. "Luzon no longer head coach of Standard" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-20.
  18. "Standard continues with coach Vukomanović" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-11-05.
  19. 1 2 "Da Cruz succeeds Chihab at Mouscron-Péruwelz" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-12-29.
  20. "Waasland-Beveren says goodbye to Ronny Van Geneugden" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-12-30.
  21. "Brepoels:"show that success with STVV was not a coincidence" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-05.
  22. "Westerlo end cooperation with Van Wijk" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-03.
  23. "Van Veldhoven is the new coach at Westerlo" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-06.
  24. 1 2 "Lierse-coach Stojanovič resigns" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-28.
  25. "Helleputte resigns as Lierse-coach after only two days" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-01-30.
  26. "Helleputte has resigned for health reasons" (in Dutch). De Morgen. 2015-01-30.
  27. 1 2 "Riga returns as head coach at Standard" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2015-02-02.
  28. 1 2 "Van Wijk takes over control at Cercle Brugge: "I'm confident"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-06.
  29. "Liège rage erupts, match stopped" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-19.
  30. 1 2 "Standard loses 0–5 and will play one match without fans" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-10-28.
  31. 1 2 "Belgian Sportsarbitrage: "The match Standard-Zulte Waregem ends at 1–2"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-12-10.
  32. "Genk-Oostende postponed to 3 February" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2014-12-27.
  33. "Algemene bepalingen" (pdf). Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  34. "KV Mechelen speelt dan toch niet "thuis" in Beveren, maar in Leuven". Sporza.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 May 2015.
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