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The 2022–23 Russian Premier League (known as the
Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
Russian Premier League, also written as Mir Russian Premier Liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 31st season of the premier
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
competition in Russia since the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
and the 21st under the current
Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...
name.


Teams

As in the previous season, 16 teams played in the 2022–23 season. After the 2021–22 season, Arsenal Tula,
Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003. It has remained there through the 2021–2 ...
and Ufa were all relegated to the 2022–23 Russian Football National League. They were replaced by
Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. The club will return to the Russian Premier League in the 2025–26 season. Their c ...
, Fakel Voronezh and
Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...
. FC Nizhny Novgorod was renamed to FC Pari Nizhny Novgorod for sponsorship reason.


Venues


Personnel and kits


Managerial changes


Tournament format and regulations

The 16 teams play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at home and once away. Thus, a total of 240 matches played, with 30 matches played by each team. The season started 15 July, with the first half of the season ending on 13 November, allowing for the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
. The second half of the season began the weekend of 4–5 March with the final round of matches scheduled for 3 June 2023.


Promotion and relegation

For the purpose of determining First League positions for the following, the teams that will not pass 2023–24 RPL licensing or drop out of 2023–24 season for any other reason, or the second teams of RPL clubs (such as FC Krasnodar-2), or the teams that finished lower than 6th place in First League standings will not be considered. For example, if the teams that finished 1st, 3rd and 4th in the First League standings fail licensing, the team that finished 2nd will be considered 1st-placed team, the team that finished 5th will be considered 2nd-placed team and the team that finished 6th will be considered 3rd-placed team. There will be no designated 4th-placed team in this scenario. The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the 2023–24 First League, while the top 2 in that league will be promoted to the Premier League for the 2023–24 season. The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd 2022–23 First League teams respectively in two (home-and-away) playoff games, with
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
in effect, if necessary (
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
for these games has been abolished beginning from this season), the winners will secure Premier League spots for the 2023–24 season. If both of the teams that finish RPL in 13th and 14th place fail licensing for the 2023–24 season or drop out for any other reason, play-offs will not be held, and 3rd and 4th First League teams will be promoted automatically. If one of the teams that place 13th and 14th in the Premier League fails licensing for 2023–24 season or drops out for other reasons, 3rd First League team will be promoted automatically and the 13th or 14th-placed team that passes licensing will play 4th First League team in playoffs, with the winners securing the Premier League spot. If only one First League team is eligible for the play-offs (as in the example scenario above), that team will play the 14th-placed RPL team in playoffs, with the winners securing the Premier League spot, and the 13th RPL team will remain in the league. If none of the First League teams are eligible for the play-offs, they will not be held and 13th and 14th-placed RPL teams will remain in the league. If any of the teams are unable to participate in the season after the play-offs have been concluded, or there are not enough teams that pass licensing to follow the above procedures, the replacement will be chosen by the
Russian Football Union The Russian Football Union (, ''Rossiyskiy Futbolnyy Soyuz'' or RFS) is the official governing body of association football in the Russian Federation. With headquarters in Moscow, it organizes Russian amateur and professional football, includi ...
in consultation with RPL and FNL. Russian Football Union announced their initial licensing decision for the 2023–24 season on 23 May 2023.
Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003. It has remained there through the 2021–2 ...
and Baltika Kaliningrad, which secured the top two First League spots at that time, were licensed for the RPL and will receive a direct promotion. Out of the teams that could potentially finish in a Top 6 First League spot at that time (with two games remaining in the season), 3rd-placed
Alania Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans ( Proto-Ossetians) that flourished between the 9th–13th centuries in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of the latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia ...
, Volgar, Arsenal Tula and SKA-Khabarovsk were all denied the RPL license, those clubs could appeal that decision. Some other teams who could finish in the Top 6, like Dynamo Makhachkala, which was 6th in the standings at the time, did not apply for the RPL license at all. Yenisey Krasnoyarsk and Rodina Moscow were the only teams out of the potential Top-6 finishers to receive the license. On 27 May 2023, Yenisey secured 4th-place finish and participation in the promotion play-offs. Rodina secured 5th First League spot and participated in the play-offs in the 4th-placed team spot. Alania's appeal was denied on 29 May 2023 (the appeal by Volgar was successful, but that was moot as Rodina secured a higher table position than Volgar by that time).


Exclusion from the league

Any team can be excluded from the Premier League during the season for the following reasons: a) using counterfeit documents or providing inaccurate information to the league; b) not arriving to the game on more than one occasion; c)
match fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...
. Such a team is automatically relegated and is not replaced during the season, and only one additional team (that gains the fewest points at the end of the season) is directly relegated. If the excluded team plays fewer than 15 games at the time of exclusion, all its results would be annulled and will not count for the standings. If the excluded team plays at least 15 games at the time of exclusion, all their remaining opponents are awarded a victory, without effect on their goal difference.


Season events


Issues related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 21 June 2022,
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
extended their ruling that would allow foreign players in Russia to unilaterally suspend their contracts with their clubs, and sign with a club outside of Russia until 30 June 2023. ;Players who suspended their contracts


Fan ID introduction and related issues

A new mandatory government-issued electronic identification document officially called "fan card" () and colloquially referred to as "Fan ID" was introduced before the season. Similar ID cards were used during the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
and Russia-hosted
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...
games. The ID is a QR code issued after an application online and a visit to a government office to confirm identity. The ID was mandatory from the beginning of the season to attend games at the home stadiums of
PFC Sochi Football Club Sochi (), is a Russian professional football club based in Sochi. The club is playing its home matches at the 47,000-capacity Fisht Stadium. History FC Sochi was founded on 4 July 2018 after the relocation of FC Dynamo Saint Pete ...
,
FC Rostov FC Rostov () is a Russian professionalism in association football, professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club competes in the Russian Premier League, playing their home matches at the Rostov Arena. History Soviet era (1930-199 ...
,
FC Ural Yekaterinburg FC Ural Yekaterinburg () is a Russian professional association football club based in Yekaterinburg that plays in the Russian First League. History The club was founded in 1930 and was known as Avangard (1930–1948, 1953–1957), Zenit (1944� ...
,
PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara () is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Samara, Russia, Samara that plays in the Russian Premier League. In 2004, they finished third in the Russian Premier League. History Krylia Sove ...
and FC Pari Nizhny Novgorod, and was expanded for all the remaining stadiums in December 2022. It would not be issued to fans who were banned from attending games by court due to committing violations at previous games such as launching firecrackers or fighting other fans. In June 2022,
Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; ) is a communist political party in Russia that officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist philosophy. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after United Russia. The youth o ...
introduced a draft of a new law to reverse the introduction of Fan ID.
Ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...
for most Premier League clubs (with the exception of
FC Akhmat Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat (; ), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, and formerly as Terek Grozny from 1958 to 2017, is a Russian professional Association football, football club based in Grozny that plays in the Russian Premier League. His ...
) boycotted the games in protest against Fan ID, considering it a privacy and rights violation. Ultras for
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club p ...
boycotted the games where Fan ID was mandatory, but attended the games where it was not yet introduced. Attendance was significantly lowered at the stadiums that introduced Fan ID. The August game between
FC Ural Yekaterinburg FC Ural Yekaterinburg () is a Russian professional association football club based in Yekaterinburg that plays in the Russian First League. History The club was founded in 1930 and was known as Avangard (1930–1948, 1953–1957), Zenit (1944� ...
and
FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet Top League, Soviet championships (second only to FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv) and 10 Russian Premier League, Russian champ ...
was attended by 8,931 people, while the attendance for the 2021–22 season game in May between the same teams was 26,402. A Russian Cup game between
FC Rostov FC Rostov () is a Russian professionalism in association football, professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club competes in the Russian Premier League, playing their home matches at the Rostov Arena. History Soviet era (1930-199 ...
and
FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footba ...
was attended by 28,931 people (Fan ID is not mandatory at Cup games except the final), and the previous Rostov league game against
PFC CSKA Moscow Professional Football Club CSKA (, derived from the historical name 'Центральный спортивный клуб армии', English language, English: ''Central Sports Club of the Army''), commonly referred to as CSKA Moscow or ''CSK ...
only had 8,616 atttendees. Overall, the average attendance at the games where Fan ID was mandatory was about half of overall average attendance. According to league's president Aleksandr Alayev, 315,000 people were issued Fan ID by late November. By late February, as the season was about to resume after the winter break, 450,000 people were issued Fan ID. In mid-March, the application procedure was adjusted so that it can be fully completed online, and a personal visit to the government office is no longer necessary (the identity is confirmed by scanning your
biometric passport A biometric passport (also known as an electronic passport, e-passport or a digital passport) is a passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip, which contains biometrics, biometric information that can be used to authenticate ...
by a NFC-supporting smartphone). By early May, 850,000 people were issued Fan ID.


Pari NN–Torpedo game

In the game played on 19 March 2023 between FC Pari Nizhny Novgorod and
FC Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. The club will return to the Russian Premier League in the 2025–26 season. Their colours are white and b ...
that ended in a 1–1 draw, Pari NN started Yaroslav Mikhaylov. Mikhaylov started the season with
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club p ...
before moving on loan to Pari NN, and received a caution in two
Russian Second League The Russian Second League (), formerly the Russian Professional Football League, are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional Association football, football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the :ru: ...
games for the
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
FC Zenit-2 Saint Petersburg. He then received caution two more times in RPL games for Pari NN. According to RPL regulations, receiving four cautions leads to an automatic one-game disqualification, and cautions received in the current season in
Russian First League The Russian First League (, Pervaya liga), formerly called Russian First Division () and Russian Football National League (FNL) () is the second level of the Football in Russia#League system, Russian football league system. The Russian Professio ...
or
Russian Second League The Russian Second League (), formerly the Russian Professional Football League, are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional Association football, football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the :ru: ...
games count for the total, with the exception of the cautions received in games for the current club's reserve team (which Pari NN did not have at the time). The league allowed Mikhaylov to be fielded as their computer system that automatically tracks disqualifications only accounts for the cautions received in RPL games, and the clubs are responsible for tracking the lower-leagues cautions themselves. Torpedo announced that they will lodge a protest and will demand the game to be awarded to them.
Russian Football Union The Russian Football Union (, ''Rossiyskiy Futbolnyy Soyuz'' or RFS) is the official governing body of association football in the Russian Federation. With headquarters in Moscow, it organizes Russian amateur and professional football, includi ...
awarded the game to Torpedo with the score of 3–0 on 22 March 2023.


League table


Relegation play-offs

The draw to determine the hosts in each leg was held on 25 May 2023. The kick-off times were announced on 3 June 2023. The referees were assigned on 5 June 2023.


First leg

----


Second leg

Pari Nizhny Novgorod won 3–2 on aggregate and retained their Russian Premier League spot, Rodina remained in the First League. ---- Fakel Voronezh won 3–0 on aggregate and retained their Russian Premier League spot, Yenisey remained in the First League.


Results


Season statistics


Top goalscorers


Hat-tricks

*


Clean sheets

;Notes


Awards


Monthly awards


Annual awards


Winline-Heroes of the RPL Awards

Awarded by the league. SG


References


External links

* *https://www.championat.com/football/_russiapl.html *https://rsport.ria.ru/20210216/futbol-1597726161.html *https://www.championat.com/football/_russiapl/tournament/4465/calendar/ {{DEFAULTSORT:2022-2023 Russian Premier League Russian Premier League seasons 1 Russian Premier League, Rus Sports events affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine