Virsliga ploughs on

The Virsliga has gone through change once again this past winter. Last season the league went with eight teams when at the end of the 2014 season FK Daugava and FK Daugava Daugavpils were demoted. FK Daugava would cease existence completely while Daugavpils were demoted to the second division despite having finished 5th. The reason for the later's demotion was that they failed to meet the financial criteria. 

So 2015 started with eight clubs and ended with seven when in June newly promoted FB Gulbene were disqualified from the league on suspicion of match-fixing. From the reports researched for this post it shows that Gulbene's games with Skonto and Spartaks Jūrmala were flagged for betting fraud. In both games Gulbene were beaten heavily, 5-0 against Skonto and 6-0 by Spartak Jūrmala. Gulbene's disqualification saw all their results expunged from league records and ensured that there was no automatic relegation. 

The big beneficiaries of this were METTA/LU, a University side based in the capital Riga. They finished 7th and entered the play-off which was handily won so they kept their top flight status when it might have been in danger had the league remained at eight teams. 

What is also absolutely worth mentioning from the 2015 league season is BFC Daugavpils. They ended up in 6th place free of any relegation trouble and play-offs. They stayed up by recording just two wins all season! In what is surely a record for a league that has the threat of relegation that is a remarkable record. Put into context, METTA /LU finished bellow them having won more games (three in total). 

Skonto denied licence

2016 was supposed to be the season to move on from disturbances in the number of teams participating. While the league as of today remains at eight, there was more instability during the winter. Skonto Riga, the country's biggest and most successful club and holder of the most consecutive league triumphs of fourteen, were denied a top division licence for the upcoming season. It has been well documented that Skonto in recent years have suffered financial difficulty. They were disqualified from the Europa League in 2014-15 due to long term debts but last season were allowed to take their place in the same competition. They beat our own St Patrick's Athletic 4-1 on aggregate before being blown away by Debreceni of Hungary 11-4 in the next round. They finished 2nd last season and would've qualified for the Europa league for this coming summer but their place will likely end up going to Jelgava who were 4th last season. 

They appealed the licensing decision but it was rejected with their league place going to FK Rīgas Futbola skola. 

Skonto were champions in 2010
source: Roman Koksharov

The rejection ends the proud record of Skonto's being the only side to have played in every league season since independence. A trophy filled era with fifteen league titles in total plus eight national cups, seven of which were part of doubles they achieved. Their biggest achievement abroad was by far the 1999-00 champions league campaign. Skonto reached the third qualifying round by comfortably beating Juenesse D'Esch of Luxembourg and then edging out Rapid București which set up a tie with Chelsea. A 0-0 draw in the home first leg set up the night of destiny in Stamford Bridge. A night that was going rather successfully from their point of view, despite a first half red card, until the final quarter-hour when goals from Celestine Babayaro, Gustavo Poyet and Chris Sutton put the champions league dream to bed. That was as close as Latvia has got to the lucrative group stage. It wouldn't be until FK Ventspils European run in 2009-10 that a Latvian side would reach the final qualifying round in the champions league. Ventspils would go on to take part in the group stage of the Europa league that year and end with three points but last place in their group that featured Hertha B.S.C , Heerenveen and Sporting CP. 

This season

The season kicked off two weeks ago. Only two rounds have been played and currently top are Spartaks Jūrmala who are the only side with maximum points. FK Ventspils, as mentioned above the only Latvian club to reach the group stage of a European competition are still going, they have two draws so far while defending champions FK Liepāja occupy the play-off spot in 7th. FK Liepāja are not to be confused with the FK Liepāja Metalurgs side that ended Skonto's fourteen consecutive league titles in 2005. That side were dissolved in 2013 and the current FK Liepāja are a successor club. 

The league will have all teams play each other four times (twice home, twice away) for a total of twenty-eight games. If the league still has its full complement of teams at the end of the season, 8th goes down automatically and 7th goes into a play-off with the 2nd placed 1. līga team.