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2020–21 Scottish Premiership

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scottish Premiership
Season2020–21
Dates1 August 2020 – 16 May 2021
ChampionsRangers
1st Premiership title
55th Scottish title
RelegatedKilmarnock
Hamilton Academical
Champions LeagueRangers
Celtic
Europa LeagueSt Johnstone
Europa Conference LeagueAberdeen
Hibernian
Matches played228
Goals scored552 (2.42 per match)
Top goalscorerOdsonne Édouard
(18 goals)[1][2]
Biggest home winRangers 8–0 Hamilton Academical[3]
(8 November 2020)
Biggest away winRoss County 0–5 Celtic[3]
(12 September 2020)
Highest scoringHamilton Academical 3–5 St Johnstone[3]
(17 October 2020)
Rangers 8–0 Hamilton Academical[3]
(8 November 2020)
Longest winning run15 matches:[3]
Rangers
Longest unbeaten run38 matches:[3]
Rangers
Longest winless run12 matches:[3]
Motherwell
Ross County
Longest losing run8 matches:[3]
Kilmarnock

The 2020–21 Scottish Premiership was the eighth season of the Scottish Premiership, the 124th edition of the highest division of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 6 July 2020,[4] with the season beginning on 1 August, following Scottish Government approval due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.[5]

Twelve teams contested the league: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Hamilton Academical, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Livingston, Motherwell, Rangers, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren. Celtic were the defending champions, seeking a record-breaking tenth successive title.

On 7 March, Rangers clinched their 55th title and the earliest title clinching date after Celtic drew 0–0 away to Dundee United with 6 games remaining.[6][7][8] Rangers also completed an unbeaten league season on 15 May 2021 after a 4–0 win against Aberdeen on the final matchday. [9]

Teams

[edit]

The following teams changed division after the 2019–20 season.

Promoted from the Championship

Relegated to the Championship

Stadia and locations

[edit]
Aberdeen Celtic Dundee United Hamilton Academical
Pittodrie Stadium Celtic Park Tannadice Park New Douglas Park
Capacity: 20,866[11] Capacity: 60,411[12] Capacity: 14,223[13] Capacity: 6,018[14]
Hibernian Kilmarnock
Easter Road Rugby Park
Capacity: 20,421[15] Capacity: 17,889[16]
Livingston Motherwell
Almondvale Stadium Fir Park
Capacity: 9,512[17] Capacity: 13,677[18]
Rangers Ross County St Johnstone St Mirren
Ibrox Stadium Victoria Park McDiarmid Park St Mirren Park
Capacity: 50,817[19] Capacity: 6,541[20] Capacity: 10,696[21] Capacity: 7,937[22]

Personnel and kits

[edit]
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Aberdeen Scotland Stephen Glass England Joe Lewis Adidas Saltire Energy
Celtic Scotland John Kennedy (Interim) Scotland Scott Brown Adidas[23] Dafabet
Dundee United Scotland Micky Mellon Scotland Mark Reynolds Macron Utilita
Hamilton Academical Scotland Brian Rice Scotland Brian Easton Adidas Cullen[24]
Hibernian Scotland Jack Ross Scotland David Gray Macron "Thank You NHS"[25]
Kilmarnock Northern Ireland Tommy Wright Republic of Ireland Gary Dicker Hummel[26] Brownings The Bakers[27]
Livingston Scotland David Martindale England Marvin Bartley Nike Phoenix Drilling Ltd
Motherwell Scotland Graham Alexander Scotland Declan Gallagher Macron Paycare[28]
Rangers England Steven Gerrard England James Tavernier Castore[29] 32Red
Ross County Scotland John Hughes Scotland Iain Vigurs Macron Ross-shire Engineering[30]
St Johnstone Scotland Callum Davidson Scotland Jason Kerr Macron Binn Group
St Mirren Republic of Ireland Jim Goodwin Republic of Ireland Joe Shaughnessy Joma Skyview Capital

Managerial changes

[edit]
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Ross County Scotland Steven Ferguson (co-manager) Internal restructuring 10 June 2020[31] Pre-season Scotland Stuart Kettlewell (manager) 10 June 2020[31]
St Johnstone Scotland Alec Cleland End of caretaker spell 18 June 2020[32] Scotland Callum Davidson 18 June 2020[32]
Dundee United Scotland Robbie Neilson Signed by Heart of Midlothian 21 June 2020[33] Scotland Micky Mellon 6 July 2020[34]
Livingston Scotland Gary Holt Resigned 26 November 2020[35] 10th Scotland David Martindale 21 December 2020[36]
Ross County Scotland Stuart Kettlewell Sacked 19 December 2020[37] 12th Scotland John Hughes 21 December 2020[38]
Motherwell Northern Ireland Stephen Robinson Resigned 31 December 2020[39] 10th Scotland Graham Alexander 7 January 2021[40]
Kilmarnock England Alex Dyer Mutual consent 30 January 2021[41] 9th Northern Ireland Tommy Wright 8 February 2021[42]
Celtic Northern Ireland Neil Lennon Resigned 24 February 2021[43] 2nd Scotland John Kennedy (Interim) 24 February 2021[43]
Aberdeen Scotland Derek McInnes Mutual consent 8 March 2021[44] 4th Scotland Stephen Glass 23 March 2021[45]

Format

[edit]

In the initial phase of the season, the 12 teams play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams three times. After 33 games, the league splits into two sections of six teams, with each team playing each other in that section. The league attempts to balance the fixture list so that teams in the same section play each other twice at home and twice away, but sometimes this is impossible. A total of 228 matches were played, with 38 matches played by each team.

League summary

[edit]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

[edit]

After the 12 Premiership clubs were given permission to restart full-contact training by the Scottish Government from 29 June 2020,[46] it was announced that an Aberdeen player had tested positive for COVID-19 two days later. The identity of the player was not disclosed but the club said that he was asymptomatic and self-isolating.[47]

Nine days prior to the start of the season on 1 August, it was reported on 23 July that seven members of St Mirren's coaching staff had tested positive. As a result, a pre-season friendly between St Mirren and St Johnstone on 25 July was cancelled and Hamilton Academical, who had played St Mirren in a friendly on 18 July, confirmed that all of their players and coaching staff had subsequently tested negative.[48] The following day, St Mirren announced that after the seven positive tests were retested, only one came back as positive with the other six negative.[49]

On the opening day of the season Rangers defeated Aberdeen 1–0 at Pittodrie Stadium and after the game, eight members of the Aberdeen squad went out to a pub in the city. Later in the week, the pub was linked to an outbreak of COVID-19 in Aberdeen which led to a lockdown of the city.[50][51] Two of the group subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 and the eight players were put into self-isolation.[50] Initially, the Scottish Government said Aberdeen's match against St Johnstone, scheduled for 8 August, wouldn't be affected by the lockdown of the city but the match was postponed after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was "pretty furious" about the situation.[50][52] Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes was critical of the group of players - namely Bruce Anderson, Craig Bryson, Sam Cosgrove, Michael Devlin, Jonny Hayes, Matty Kennedy, Dylan McGeouch and Scott McKenna - who apologised for a "huge error of judgement".[53]

The following weekend, defending champions Celtic drew 1–1 with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on 9 August. Defender Boli Bolingoli was in the Celtic match squad and came off the bench during the match, but was found to have travelled back from Spain a few days earlier[54][55] – at that time, a 14-day quarantine was required for anyone travelling to Scotland from that country.[56] Celtic manager Neil Lennon said Bolingoli "went rogue" and the club were unaware of his actions before it came to light on 10 August.[54] Kilmarnock manager Alex Dyer revealed that Celtic had apologised for the situation.[57] Bolingoli (who tested negative for the virus) was subsequently fined £480 by the police for his breach of quarantine rules.[55]

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned Scottish football clubs, players and authorities that the breaches of COVID-19 protocols set up to allow football to resume in Scotland had resulted in her giving the game a "yellow card" and that further breaches could lead to a pause in the football season. Aberdeen and Celtic's matches against Hamilton Academical and St Mirren respectively on 12 August were postponed as a result of the two incidents, as well as the Celtic vs. Aberdeen match on 15 August.[58][59]

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) introduced new rules following the breaches of COVID-19 rules which meant Bolingoli and the "Aberdeen eight" were charged by both governing bodies.[60] An SFA hearing was held on 28 August which resulted in a three-match ban with a further two-match ban suspended for Bolingoli. The "Aberdeen eight" were each given a three-match suspended ban. The suspended bans would be triggered if a player was again charged with "bringing the game into disrepute" before 28 February 2021.[61]

Three fixtures (Kilmarnock v Motherwell, St Mirren v Motherwell and St Mirren v Hamilton) during the autumn were postponed after Kilmarnock and St Mirren told the SPFL that they could not fulfil them as scheduled due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The SPFL initially awarded 3–0 victories to their opponents; but that decision was overturned after an appeal to the Scottish Football Association.[62][63]

League table

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Rangers (C) 38 32 6 0 92 13 +79 102 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
2 Celtic 38 22 11 5 78 29 +49 77 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3 Hibernian 38 18 9 11 48 35 +13 63 Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round
4 Aberdeen 38 15 11 12 36 38 −2 56
5 St Johnstone 38 11 12 15 36 46 −10 45 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[b]
6 Livingston 38 12 9 17 42 54 −12 45
7 St Mirren 38 11 12 15 37 45 −8 45
8 Motherwell 38 12 9 17 39 55 −16 45
9 Dundee United 38 10 14 14 32 50 −18 44
10 Ross County 38 11 6 21 35 66 −31 39
11 Kilmarnock (R) 38 10 6 22 43 54 −11 36 Qualification for the Premiership play-off final
12 Hamilton Academical (R) 38 7 9 22 34 67 −33 30 Relegation to Championship
Source: [64]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).[65]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
  2. ^ St Johnstone qualified as the 2020–21 Scottish Cup winners.

Positions by round

[edit]

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it is added to the standings for round 16.

Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
Rangers32111111111111111111111111111111111111
Celtic14464322222222222222222222222222222222
Hibernian21222233334334433434444344333333333333
Aberdeen9911117444443443344343333433444444444444
St Johnstone77978769111291097889101010999998888887666555
Livingston1011101012101112868910101097776655555555555555666
St Mirren566566710121111111111111210887778886666666787887
Motherwell11108910121289910878555569101110111110999999999778
Dundee United65545886676655666655566667777778878999
Ross County4333355578778991112121212111212101011111112101010101011101010
Kilmarnock8878119107555566778998887779101010111112111110111111
Hamilton Academical12121212911911101012121212121011111111121011121212121211121211121212121212
Leader and Champions League third qualifying round
Champions league second qualifying round
Europa Conference League second qualifying round
Qualification for the Premiership play-off final
Relegated to the Championship
Source: [citation needed]

Results

[edit]

Matches 34–38

[edit]

After 33 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams i.e. the top six and the bottom six, with the teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches are determined by the position of the teams in the league table at the time of the split.

Season statistics

[edit]

Scoring

[edit]

Top scorers

[edit]
As of 16 May 2021
Rank Player Club Goals
1 France Odsonne Édouard Celtic 18
2 Scotland Kevin Nisbet Hibernian 14
Jamaica Kemar Roofe Rangers
4 Australia Martin Boyle Hibernian 12
Colombia Alfredo Morelos Rangers
England James Tavernier Rangers
7 England Devante Cole Motherwell 11
8 Norway Mohamed Elyounoussi Celtic 10
England Ryan Kent Rangers
Republic of Ireland Jamie McGrath St Mirren

Source:[1][2]

Hat-tricks

[edit]
Player For Against Score Date Ref.
France Odsonne Édouard Celtic Hamilton Academical 5–1 (H) 2 August 2020 [67]
Scotland Kevin Nisbet Hibernian Livingston 4–1 (A) 8 August 2020 [68]
Norway Mohamed Elyounoussi Celtic Motherwell 4–1 (A) 8 November 2020 [69]
Northern Ireland Kyle Lafferty Kilmarnock Dundee United 3–0 (H) 21 April 2021 [70]

Clean sheets

[edit]
As of 16 May 2021
Rank Player Club Clean Sheets
1 England Joe Lewis Aberdeen 17
Scotland Allan McGregor Rangers
3 Switzerland Benjamin Siegrist Dundee United 12
Israel Ofir Marciano Hibernian
5 England Jak Alnwick St Mirren 10

Source:[71]

Attendances

[edit]

Games are mostly being played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited attendance is allowed at some grounds with strict conditions under the Scottish Government Tier system, dependent on the club's geographical location.

Awards

[edit]
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month Ref.
Manager Club Player Club
August England Steven Gerrard Rangers England Ryan Kent Rangers
September Northern Ireland Neil Lennon Celtic England James Tavernier
October England Steven Gerrard Rangers England Connor Goldson Rangers
November England James Tavernier
December Scotland David Martindale Livingston Scotland David Turnbull Celtic
January Scotland Scott Robinson Livingston
February England Steven Gerrard Rangers France Odsonne Édouard Celtic
March Scotland Callum Davidson St Johnstone Colombia Alfredo Morelos Rangers
April Scotland Graham Alexander Motherwell Northern Ireland Kyle Lafferty Kilmarnock

Premiership play-offs

[edit]

The quarter-finals were contested between the third and fourth placed teams in the Scottish Championship. The winners advanced to the semi-finals to face the second placed team in the Championship, and the winners of that tie advanced to the final to play-off against the 11th placed team in the Premiership, with the winners securing a place in the 2021–22 Scottish Premiership.

Quarter-final

[edit]

First leg

[edit]
4 May 2021 Dunfermline Athletic 0–0 Raith Rovers Dunfermline
19:00 [72] Stadium: East End Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Steven Kirkland

Second leg

[edit]
8 May 2021 Raith Rovers 2–0
(2–0 agg.)
Dunfermline Athletic Kirkcaldy
15:00
[73] Stadium: Stark's Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Greg Aitken

Semi-final

[edit]

First leg

[edit]
12 May 2021 Raith Rovers 0–3 Dundee Kirkcaldy
19:45 [74]
Stadium: Stark's Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Nick Walsh

Second leg

[edit]
15 May 2021 Dundee 0–1
(3–1 agg.)
Raith Rovers Dundee
19:45 [75] Vaughan 21' Stadium: Dens Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Don Robertson

Final

[edit]

First leg

[edit]
20 May 2021 Dundee 2–1 Kilmarnock Dundee
20:15
[76] Haunstrup 77' Stadium: Dens Park
Attendance: 500
Referee: John Beaton

Second leg

[edit]
24 May 2021 Kilmarnock 1–2
(2–4 agg.)
Dundee Kilmarnock
19:45 Lafferty 69' (pen.) [77] Stadium: Rugby Park
Attendance: 500
Referee: Bobby Madden

Broadcasting

[edit]

Live matches

[edit]

UK and Ireland

[edit]

Sky Sports has exclusive rights to the Scottish Premiership regular league season and can show up to 48 matches, whilst also broadcasting the play-off final with BBC Scotland showing the quarter-final & semi-final.[78][79] Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs can stream matches (not broadcast on Sky) to fans on a pay-per-view or "virtual season ticket" basis, whilst capacities in stadia are limited due to social distancing restrictions.[80]

United States

[edit]

Select Premiership matches, along with the matches in the promotion/relegation playoffs, are shown in the United States on ESPN+, as part of a deal that allows ESPN+ to broadcast matches from Scottish leagues.[81]

Highlights

[edit]

From the start of this season, highlights are shown on both Saturdays and Sundays on BBC Scotland's flagship Sportscene programme. Sky Sports also show highlights.

Gaelic-language channel BBC Alba has rights to broadcast repeats in full of 38 Saturday 3 pm matches "as live" at 5.30 pm.

The SPFL also uploads the goals from every Premiership match onto its YouTube channel - available from 6 pm on a Sunday for UK and Ireland viewers and 10 pm on a Saturday for those worldwide.

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[edit]
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