First League (Russia)

First League (Russia) (organized by the FNL under the RFU) - the second-tier professional club division in Russia below the Premier League. Regulations: the season is played in a double round-robin format, each club plays every opponent home and away, 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. Teams are ranked by points, for two tied teams the tie-breakers are, in order, head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, away goals in head-to-head matches, then total wins, overall goal difference, goals scored, away wins, away goals, fewer disciplinary points and drawing of lots, for three or more tied teams head-to-head criteria are applied first (points, wins, goal difference, goals scored, away goals) followed by overall criteria and disciplinary points, and if all criteria remain equal between the teams in 1st and 2nd place an extra match is played with the winner decided by a penalty shoot-out if level after normal time. At the end of the season the clubs finishing 1st and 2nd earn the right to play in the Premier League, the clubs finishing 3rd and 4th contest two-legged promotion-relegation play-offs against the Premier League clubs in 14th and 13th place respectively (14th vs 3rd, 13th vs 4th), the play-off winner is determined by total goals over the two legs and, if level, by a penalty shoot-out, eligibility for promotion or the play-offs requires an RFU I licence and reserve teams of Premier League clubs are not eligible for promotion or the play-offs. The bottom three clubs are relegated to the Second League.