2018–19 Gibraltar Premier Division
# 2018–19 Gibraltar Premier Division

The 2018–19 Gibraltar Premier Division was the 120th season of the top-tier state football league in Gibraltar, as well as the sixth season since the Gibraltar Football Association joined UEFA in 2013. The league was contested by ten clubs, and began on 13 August 2018.

Lincoln Red Imps were the reigning champions, having won their 23rd title the previous season. They competed in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, while Europa and St Joseph's contested the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. The season was marred by revelations of betting rules violations by a host of players and coaches at a number of clubs.

## Format

The ten Premier Division clubs played each other three times for a total of 27 matches each. The tenth-placed team in the league would be relegated and the ninth-placed team in the league would enter a playoff with the second-placed team from the Second Division for a place in the 2019–20 Premier Division.

The champions earned a place in the preliminary round of the 2019–20 Champions League, and the second–placed club earned a place in the preliminary round of the 2019–20 Europa League. This season also saw the expansion of the Home Grown Player Rule to require all teams to have a minimum of three Gibraltarian players on the field of play at all times, as well as introducing a maximum registered squad size of 25 players. However, the introduction of the Gibraltar Intermediate League allows them to register a reserve squad of 18 players, of which 13 must be Gibraltarian.

### Violations of betting rules

Starting in November, the Gibraltar FA began issuing a number of bans following an in-depth investigation of suspected betting rule violations by players and coaches. At first, several Europa players, including Rubo Blanco, Iván Moya and manager Juan José Gallardo, were banned Following this, Lincoln Red Imps manager Yiyi Pérez was also suspended In March 2019, Lions Gibraltar and Gibraltar Phoenix players including Rafael Bado and Juan Manuel Llaves received bans. On 12 April, 4 further players from Boca Gibraltar, Gibraltar United and Manchester 62, as well as former St Joseph's and Glacis United manager Alfonso Cortijo, received bans.

## Teams

At the conclusion of the previous season, Manchester 62 were relegated. Boca Gibraltar took their place, having won the Second Division title and earning promotion for the first time in their history.

Lynx finished 9th the previous season, leaving them to face the runners up in the Second Division, FC Olympique 13, in a play-off. Lynx won the play-off 2–0 on 8 June 2018 to secure their status in the Premier Division.

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Club sponsor | 2017–18 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Boca Gibraltar | Allen Bula | Felix Formica-Corsi | ES | Coral | D2, 1st |
| Europa | Rafa Escobar | Liam Walker | Jako | La Parrilla Betfred | 2nd |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Juan Maria Sánchez | Ñito Jiménez | Luanvi | Viajes LineaSol | 6th |
| Gibraltar United | Paco Luna | Kyle Goldwin | Kappa | Quantocoin | 4th |
| Glacis United | Jesús Napolitano | Nacho Fernández | Nike | | 7th |
| Lincoln Red Imps | Víctor Afonso | Roy Chipolina | Joma | Mansion.com | 1st |
| Lions Gibraltar | Albert Ferri | Alberto Caravaca | Givova | | 8th |
| Lynx | Carlos Gobantes | Gabriel González | Silver Sport | Verralls | 9th |
| Mons Calpe | Luis Manuel Blanco | Federico Villar | Givova | Tokamóvil | 5th |
| St Joseph's | Raúl Procopio Baizán | Boro | Joma | | 3rd |

* Ñito Jiménez replaced Blas Álvarez as Gibraltar Phoenix captain after the latter was banned by the GFA for the remainder of the season, while Alberto Caravaca replaced Kalian Perez as Lions Gibraltar captain after Perez was banned for 16 months.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Gibraltar Phoenix | Albert Ferri | Mutual consent | 8 June 2018 | Pre-season | Juan Maria Sánchez | 15 June 2018 |
| Glacis United | Mariano Marcos Garcia | Signed by CD San Roque | 8 June 2018 | Pre-season | Theo Vonk | 26 June 2018 |
| Lions Gibraltar | Rafael Bado | Mutual consent | 29 June 2018 | Pre-season | Albert Ferri | 29 June 2018 |
| Gibraltar United | Manolo Nuñez Sánchez | Resigned | 13 July 2018 | Pre-season | Lucas Cazorla | 14 July 2018 |
| Glacis United | Theo Vonk | Resigned | 9 August 2018 | Pre-season | Alfonso Cortijo | 10 August 2018 |
| Lincoln Red Imps | Yiyi Perez | Suspended | 8 November 2018 | 2nd | Manolo Nuñez Sánchez | 8 November 2018 |
| Glacis United | Alfonso Cortijo | Resigned | 9 November 2018 | 7th | Jesús Napolitano | December 2018 |
| Europa | Juanjo Gallardo | Suspended | 23 November 2018 | 1st | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez | 23 November 2018 |
| Lincoln Red Imps | Manolo Nuñez Sánchez | Resigned | 12 December 2018 | 2nd | Víctor Afonso | 13 December 2018 |
| Boca Gibraltar | Juanjo Pomares | Resigned | 18 December 2018 | 9th | Allen Bula | 19 December 2018 |
| Gibraltar United | Lucas Cazorla | Sacked | 6 January 2019 | 4th | Paco Luna | 7 January 2019 |
| Europa | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez | Mutual consent | 5 February 2019 | 2nd | Rafa Escobar | 6 February 2019 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Lincoln Red Imps (C) | 27 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 84 | 19 | +65 | 66 | Qualification for the Champions League preliminary round |
| 2 | Europa FC | 27 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 84 | 20 | +64 | 64 | Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round |
| 3 | St Joseph's | 27 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 69 | 29 | +40 | 55 | Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round |
| 4 | Mons Calpe | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 63 | 29 | +34 | 49 | |
| 5 | Gibraltar Phoenix | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 43 | |
| 6 | Gibraltar United | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 39 | |
| 7 | Lynx | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 29 | 45 | −16 | 31 | |
| 8 | Glacis United | 27 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 28 | 58 | −30 | 24 | |
| 9 | Lions Gibraltar | 27 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 17 | 77 | −60 | 9 | |
| 10 | Boca Gibraltar | 27 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 13 | 129 | −116 | 7 | |

## Season statistics

### Scoring

    As of 19 May 2019

**Top scorers**

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Boro | St Joseph's | 21 |
| 2 | Juanfri | St Joseph's | 20 |
| 3 | Pibe | Mons Calpe | 18 |
| 4 | Leonardo Carboni | Mons Calpe | 16 |
| 5 | Tjay De Barr | Europa | 14 |
| 6 | Urko Arroyo | Europa | 12 |
| 6 | Liam Walker | Europa | 12 |
| 8 | Joseph Chipolina | Lincoln Red Imps | 11 |
| 8 | Labra | Gibraltar Phoenix | 11 |
| 10 | Manuel Arana | Europa | 10 |
| 10 | Héctor Figueroa | Lincoln Red Imps | 10 |
| 10 | Raúl Segura | Gibraltar Phoenix | 10 |

**Hat-tricks**

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Joseph Chipolina | Lincoln Red Imps | Lions Gibraltar | 3–0 (H) | 24 August 2018 |
| $Boro^4$ | St Joseph's | Lynx | 7–1 (H) | 11 December 2018 |
| Giovanni | Lincoln Red Imps | Gibraltar United | 5–1 (A) | 17 January 2019 |
| Pibe | Mons Calpe | Lions Gibraltar | 4–0 (A) | 18 January 2019 |
| Juan Manuel Llaves | Gibraltar Phoenix | Glacis United | 6–0 (H) | 19 January 2019 |
| Anthony Hernandez | Lincoln Red Imps | Boca Gibraltar | 11–0 (A) | 2 February 2019 |
| Kike Gómez | Lincoln Red Imps | Boca Gibraltar | 11–0 (A) | 2 February 2019 |
| Boro | St Joseph's | Glacis United | 8–0 (H) | 2 February 2019 |
| Juanfri | St Joseph's | Boca Gibraltar | 10–1 (H) | 28 February 2019 |
| José Luis Reyes | St Joseph's | Boca Gibraltar | 10–1 (H) | 28 February 2019 |
| Leonardo Carboni | Mons Calpe | Boca Gibraltar | 5–0 (A) | 9 March 2019 |
| Alberto Zapata | Gibraltar United | Boca Gibraltar | 7–0 (H) | 30 March 2019 |
| Pibe | Mons Calpe | Lions Gibraltar | 6–0 (H) | 15 April 2019 |
| Urko Arroyo | Europa | Lynx | 5-0 (H) | 4 April 2019 |
| Leonardo Carboni | Mons Calpe | Gibraltar United | 5-2 (H) | 4 May 2019 |
| Héctor Figueroa | Lincoln Red Imps | Boca Gibraltar | 10–0 (H) | 5 May 2019 |
| Alberto Caravaca | Lions Gibraltar | Boca Gibraltar | 7-0 (A) | 11 May 2019 |
| Liam $Walker^4$ | Europa | Boca Gibraltar | 13-1 (H) | 18 May 2019 |
| Urko $Arroyo^4$ | Europa | Boca Gibraltar | 13-1 (H) | 18 May 2019 |

**Clean Sheets**

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Javi Muñoz | Europa | 9 |
| 1 | Jamie Robba | St Joseph's | 9 |
| 3 | Matt Cafer | Gibraltar Phoenix | 8 |
| 3 | Manuel Soler | Lincoln Red Imps | 8 |
| 3 | Marcos Zappacosta | Mons Calpe | 8 |
| 6 | Kyle Goldwin | Gibraltar United | 7 |
| 7 | Borja | Glacis United | 5 |
| 8 | Dayle Coleing | Europa | 4 |
| 8 | Jaylan Hankins | Lincoln Red Imps | 4 |
| 10 | Álex Caro | Lynx | 3 |
| 10 | Sebastian Andres Lallana | Lynx | 3 |

## Awards

### Monthly awards

No league football was played in September 2018 due to the international break and the Gibraltar Music Festival.

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Reference |
| August | Yiyi Pérez | Lincoln Red Imps | Joseph Chipolina | Lincoln Red Imps | |
| October | Juan Maria Sánchez | Gibraltar Phoenix | Tjay De Barr | Europa | |
| November | Raúl Procopio Baizán | St Joseph's | Juanfri | St Joseph's | |
| December | Raúl Procopio Baizán | St Joseph's | Boro | St Joseph's | |
| January | Luis Manuel Blanco | Mons Calpe | Pibe | Mons Calpe | |
| February | Víctor Afonso | Lincoln Red Imps | Kike Gómez | Lincoln Red Imps | |
| March | Rafa Escobar | Europa | Álex Quillo | Europa | |
| April | Víctor Afonso | Lincoln Red Imps | Sergio Molina | Lincoln Red Imps | |

### End-of-season awards

End of season awards were handed out by Football Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Football Association's official UEFA correspondents, on 28 May and 2 June.

| Award | Winner | Club |
| - | - | - |
| Manager of the Season | Raúl Procopio Baizán | St Joseph's |
| Goalkeeper of the Season | Jamie Robba | St Joseph's |
| Defender of the Season | Bernardo Lopes | Lincoln Red Imps |
| Midfielder of the Season | Mustapha Yahaya | Europa |
| Striker of the Season | Boro | St Joseph's |
| Player of the Season | Bernardo Lopes | Lincoln Red Imps |
| Young Player of the Season | Tjay De Barr | Europa |
| Fans' Player of the Season | Bernardo Lopes | Lincoln Red Imps |
| Fans' Young Player of the Season | Tjay De Barr | Europa |
