2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League

Competition format

• For the next season UPL will keep 12 clubs ;
• Competition will have two stages, with the first stage having 22 rounds and the second stage after team will split into two six-members groups having 10 more rounds in each group;
• Team that placed the 12th will be relegated directly to Persha Liha, teams that placed 10th and 11th will play two-leg play-off with the second and third teams of the Persha Liha.

Next season changes and a structural reform

Teams

Promotions

• FC Mariupol – the champion of the 2016–17 Ukrainian First League
• NK Veres Rivne – third place of the 2016–17 Ukrainian First League ''''

Location map

Stadiums

Personnel and sponsorship

• Ever since Darijo Srna was tested positive for doping, on 22 September 2017 he voluntarily stopped participation in competitions and on 20 November 2017 he has been suspended by UEFA for the continental competitions. The team's captain for Shakhtar has been served either by Taras Stepanenko or Taison. On 22 February 2018, the disqualification was officially applied and retrospectively including the time he was suspended from competitions. The start time of disqualification was identified as 22 March 2017 and the end time shall be no earlier than 22 August 2018.

Managerial changes

First stage

First stage table

First stage positions by round

Championship round

Championship round table

Relegation round

Relegation round table

Relegation play-offs

First leg

Second leg

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Scorer	Team	Goals
1	Hat-tricks Player scored goals if more than 3 Awards The 2017 Coach of the Year award The best coaches were identified by the All-Ukrainian Football Coaches Association. Place Coach Team Mark 1 Season awards The laureates of the 2017–18 UPL season were: Best player: Marlos Best coach: Alyaksandr Khatskevich Best goalkeeper: Andriy Pyatov Best arbiter: Yuriy Mozharovskyi Best young player: Viktor Tsyhankov Best goalscorer: Facundo Ferreyra Season's incidents Desna vs Veres promotion On 1 June 2017, it was announced that second-placed club FC Desna Chernihiv was denied a license to play in the top division. The argument was that the club was not able to provide guarantees for an adequate financing of infrastructure. The license was received by NK Veres Rivne, the third-placed team during the last season in the second-tier division. Both clubs FC Desna Chernihiv and NK Veres Rivne did not play at their home stadiums in the 2016–17 Ukrainian First League. The first one played in Kyiv at the Obolon Arena, while the other one played in Varash, at the Izotop Stadium of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. The administration of Desna released a letter of protest before a meeting of FFU representatives. In protest, the Desna administration announced that the club would not play its final game of the season against FC Illichivets Mariupol, but later relented. Nonetheless, during the game, players of both teams expressed their protest on the field in a special way: when the whistle was blown the players, instead of starting play, were demonstratively standing around yet kicking a ball. On 2 June 2017, upon conclusion of its conference the UPL administration announced about the final composition of the league and calendar for the upcoming season. The conference confirmed the admission of Veres to the league and the only club that voted against was FC Dynamo Kyiv, while six votes were for decision and three abstained. On 2 June 2017, the Desna fans were picketing the House of Football in Kyiv after they arrived on four buses from Chernihiv. On 7 June 2017, sports media UA-Football requested from Football Federation of Ukraine and FC Desna Chernihiv to publish related documents to have better understanding over the situation and come to some kind of closure on the subject. Number of football experts negatively commented on the situation, while the PFC Sumy head coach Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi stated that tomorrow these sports functionaries in such way will make Veres the national champions. The former PFL president Svyatoslav Syrota said that the FFU vice-president is lying about Desna problems. President of FC Inhulets Petrove, Oleksandr Porovoznyuk, called on other clubs to withdraw their teams from the league in support for FC Desna Chernihiv. President of FC Hirnyk-Sport Horishni Plavni Petro Kaplun stated that it makes him laugh when the president of Veres Oleksiy Khakhlev asks to follow the regulations. He points out that last season Veres was admitted to the Second League with complete disregard to the season's regulations. Kaplun also called on the FFU authorities to pay attention to what owners of professional clubs have to say as they have a right to express their vote of confidence for the FFU leadership. Mariupol vs Dynamo (security issues) Another issue relating to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine became serious when FC Dynamo Kyiv failed to arrive to Mariupol for the away game against FC Mariupol on 27 August 2017. The issue was ongoing ever since the end of previous season when on 2 June 2017 FC Mariupol's promotion to the Ukrainian Premier League became official. On 3 June 2017 the vice president of Dynamo Serhiy Mokhnyk officially announced that the club will not travel for a game in Mariupol city as it is difficult to present guarantees in security due the fact that the city is located near a frontline. The vice president also offered to conduct the game on a neutral field such as Dnipro Arena. Few days later in more details the same announcement was repeated by Ihor Surkis who also added that if he will receive documented security guarantees, he will send his team to Mariupol. The leadership of the Football Federation of Ukraine in a face of Andriy Pavelko right away expressed its opposition for the Dynamo's statement. The president of FFU made an emphasis that the game in Mariupol is an important component of uniting policy on national scale. He also underlined that there is no danger in conducting the game in Mariupol. During preparation for the next season the issue was moved to background. However, when the season started on 16 July 2017, the issue surfaced again. About a week later, on 24 July 2017, Dynamo received recommendation letter from the Ministry of Interior and the Security Service of Ukraine where it was urged not to travel to Mariupol for a game. The same day Dynamo published its own letter addressed to the Football Federation of Ukraine and Ukrainian Premier League petitioning to transfer the Round 7 game against Mariupol scheduled on 27 August 2017 to another city. Two days later, on 26 July 2017, almost at the same time both the Minister of Interior and the President of UPL made public announcements assuring in safety of conducting football games in the littoral city of the Sea of Azov. Throughout the rest of month of July two games took place in Mariupol. Until August FC Karpaty Lviv supported the position of Dynamo. Eventually to this "stand off" became involved the general manager of FC Shakhtar Donetsk Serhiy Palkin, while the television channel "Football" launched a wide informational campaign in support to conduct the game. For example, during one of the channel's broadcasting the president of Football Federation of Mariupol city called Hryhoriy Surkis the "main football separatist" and offered him to resolve the issue through Viktor Medvedchuk and the president of the aggressor state. On 11 August 2017, the Deputy director of National Police in Donetsk Oblast wrote an official letter to the Football Federation of Ukraine with security guarantees for all games in Mariupol. Finally the game between FC Mariupol and FC Karpaty took place on August 13 in Mariupol. On 18 August 2017, FFU issued a press release where it denied the petition of Dynamo in transferring the game. The session of the FFU Executive Committee that had taken place on 22 August 2017 should have solved the problem. Following no show of Dynamo to the game with FC Mariupol on 27 August 2017, FC Mariupol issued a press release where it accused its opponents in attempt to discredit the football club from Mariupol. On 14 November 2017, The Appeal Committee of the Football Federation of Ukraine did not satisfy the Dynamo appeal and counted the team's technical defeat. On 19 February 2018, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne declined all claims of Dynamo to the Football Federation of Ukraine in relations to the "Mariupol case". On 28 February 2018, the Ukrainian Premier League has officially updated its standings in correspondence to the earlier decision of the FFU CDC of 11 September 2017. Relocation of teams Due to the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine some football clubs were forced to be dissolved, other moved away to other cities in Ukraine. Among the UPL teams, teams from Donetsk, Olimpik and Shakhtar, moved to Kyiv, Zorya Luhansk moved to Zaporizhia, teams from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Tavriya and Sevastopol, were dissolved. The relocated teams did not hurry with their change of place of registry in hope to be able to return home in near future. In 2018 Shakhtar has officially changed its place of registry from Donetsk to Mariupol. During the season several clubs changed their city registration for various reasons and informed the Football Federation of Ukraine that since the next season will represent other cities. 2018 UPL presidential elections The 2018 presidential elections of the Ukrainian Premier League took place on 6 April 2018. The current president Volodymyr Heninson that serves as the president since February 2016 announced that he will not run for president in 2018. Among possible candidates specialists note a Swiss lawyer Thomas Grimm or Joe Palmer from AFC Wimbledon. As of 26 March 2018, a day before deadline for submitting candidacy for election, there is only Thomas Grimm whose candidacy was submitted by FC Oleksandriya on 22 March 2018. On 6 April 2018, Thomas Grimm was elected as a new president with 10 votes for and 2 abstained. Prospective disciplinary sanctions According to FootballHub, in March the FFU Disciplinary Committee prosecuted the Olimpik's junior teams U-19 and U-21 for game fixing. Earlier the CDC chairman, Francesco Baranca, underlined that Olimpik won't participate in European competitions if its junior teams will be disqualified. FC Vorskla Poltava could have problems with the league's attestation for next season for debts to its former players. Another UPL player submitted his claim to the FFU CDC against its former club FC Stal Kamianske.