The 2001–02 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 17th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams. Shelbourne were crowned champions for the tenth time.
| Season | 2001–02 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Shelbourne FC (10th title) |
| Relegated | Dundalk Galway United Monaghan United |
| UEFA Champions League | Shelbourne FC |
| UEFA Cup | Shamrock Rovers Dundalk |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Top goalscorer | Glen Crowe: 21 (Bohemians) [1][2] |
← 2000–01 2002–03 → | |
Regular season
editThe season saw each team playing three rounds of games, playing every other team three times, totalling 33 games. The 2002–03 season would see the League of Ireland Premier Division reduced from 12 to 10 teams. As a result, three teams were automatically relegated. [2][3] The season is best remembered for the controversy involving allegations of St Patrick's Athletic fielding ineligible players. St. Pat's originally had 9 points deducted for fielding Paul Marney in the first three games of the season. This was later revoked after arbitration. However Shelbourne appealed against this decision which was taken to the High Court where the appeal was rejected. It was then discovered by the Shelbourne chief executive, Ollie Byrne, that Charles Livingstone Mbabazi had not been registered by St. Pat's for the first five games of the season and so the club had 15 points deducted, three points for each game. The decision of the FAI appeal board to dismiss St. Pat's appeal in the Livingstone case saw Shelbourne confirmed as league champions.[2][4]
Final table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shelbourne (C) | 33 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 50 | 28 | +22 | 63 | Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 54 | 32 | +22 | 57 | Qualification to UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | St Patrick's Athletic[a] | 33 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 53 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round |
| 4 | Bohemians | 33 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 57 | 32 | +25 | 52 | |
| 5 | Derry City | 33 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 51 | |
| 6 | Cork City | 33 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 49 | |
| 7 | UCD | 33 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 48 | |
| 8 | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 45 | +9 | 46 | |
| 9 | Longford Town (O) | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 40 | Qualification to Relegation play-off |
| 10 | Dundalk (R) | 33 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 37 | 46 | −9 | 39 | UEFA Cup qualifying and relegation to First Division[b] |
| 11 | Galway United (R) | 33 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 73 | −45 | 19 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
| 12 | Monaghan United (R) | 33 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 19 | 85 | −66 | 12 |
- ^ St Patrick's Athletic had 15 points deducted for fielding an ineligible player.
- ^ Dundalk qualified for the UEFA Cup qualifying round after winning the 2001–02 FAI Cup.
Results
editMatches 1–22
editMatches 23–33
editPromotion/relegation play-off
editLongford Town who finished in ninth place played off against Finn Harps, the third placed team from the 2001–02 League of Ireland First Division.
1st leg
edit| 20 May 2002 | Longford Town | 1–0 | Finn Harps |
2nd leg
edit| 23 May 2002 | Finn Harps | 3–2 | Longford Town |
Longford Town win 6-5 on penalties after extra time and retain their place in the Premier Division. [2][5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Ireland - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d Graham, Alex. Football in the Republic of Ireland a Statistical Record 1921–2005. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 1-86223-135-4.
- ^ "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ "St Pats keep mum 'til report published". www.irishexaminer.com. 12 April 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
- ^ "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables - Second Level". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2016.