2021 Categoría Primera B season

Torneo BetPlay DIMAYOR
Season2021
Dates15 January 2021 – 10 March 2022
ChampionsTorneo I: Deportes Quindío (2nd title)
Torneo II: Unión Magdalena (1st title)
PromotedAtlético Huila
Deportes Quindío
Cortuluá
Unión Magdalena
Matches played276
Goals scored654 (2.37 per match)
Top goalscorerTorneo I: Steven Rodríguez (16 goals)
Torneo II: Luis Felipe Gómez (12 goals)
Biggest home winValledupar 6–0 Bogotá
(15 February 2021)
Biggest away winReal Cartagena 0–5 Cortuluá
(5 December 2021)
Highest scoringValledupar 3–4 Orsomarso
(23 January 2021)
Llaneros 4–3 Leones
(4 October 2021)
← 2020
2022 →

The 2021 Categoría Primera B season (officially known as the 2021 Torneo BetPlay DIMAYOR season for sponsorship reasons) was the 32nd season of the Categoría Primera B since its founding as Colombia's second division football league. The tournament started on 15 January 2021 and ended on 10 March 2022. Atlético Huila were the defending champions, having been unable to earn promotion to the Categoría Primera A despite winning the previous tournament.

Deportes Quindío won their second Primera B title in the Torneo I, defeating Cortuluá in the final over two legs, whilst Unión Magdalena were the champions in the Torneo II, beating Cortuluá in the final on penalties after a 1–1 draw to claim their first title.

Format

The format for the 2021 Primera B season was decided at DIMAYOR's General Assembly session of 17 December 2020.[1] For this season, two tournaments (Torneo I and Torneo II) with three stages each will be played. In the Torneo I, the 16 teams played a single round-robin tournament under the same fixture as the previous season, but with reversed home-and-away order. The top eight teams at the end of the fifteen rounds advanced to the semi-finals, where teams were split into two groups of four where they played each one of their rivals twice. The top team of each group advanced to the finals, where they played a double-legged series with the winner advancing to the Grand Final against the 2020 Primera B winners Atlético Huila.[2] The Grand Final was also played over two legs, with the winner earning promotion to the Primera A for the 2021 Finalización tournament. The second promotion spot to the 2021 Primera A season would be decided in a promotion play-off between the Grand Final loser and the best team of the aggregate table of both the 2020 and 2021–I tournaments, other than the Grand Final winners.[3]

The Torneo II was only played by 15 teams, given that two teams were promoted and only one team was relegated from the Primera A. In the first stage, the 15 teams played a single round-robin tournament with the top eight teams advancing to the semi-finals, in which the eight qualified teams were split into two groups of four teams each, playing a double round-robin tournament. Both group winners were promoted to the Primera A for the 2022 season and also played a single-match final to decide the champions.[1][4]

Teams

17 teams took part in the season, the 16 teams that competed in the previous season as well as Boyacá Chicó, who were relegated from the Primera A at the end of the 2021 Apertura tournament. Real San Andrés were rebranded back to Real Santander and returned to the Santander Department following the expiration of the agreement with the local authorities of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina.[5]

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2021 Categoría Primera B teams
Club City Stadium Capacity
Atlético Cali Pascual Guerrero 33,130
Atlético Huila Neiva Guillermo Plazas Alcid 22,000
Barranquilla Barranquilla Romelio Martínez 8,000
Boca Juniors de Cali Palmira Francisco Rivera Escobar 15,300
Bogotá Bogotá Metropolitano de Techo 8,000
Cortuluá Tuluá Doce de Octubre 16,000
Deportes Quindío Armenia Centenario 20,716
Fortaleza Cota Municipal de Cota 4,000
Leones Itagüí Metropolitano Ciudad de Itagüí 12,000
Llaneros Villavicencio Bello Horizonte 15,000
Orsomarso Palmira Francisco Rivera Escobar 15,300
Real Cartagena Cartagena Jaime Morón León 16,068
Real Santander Piedecuesta Villa Concha 3,000
Tigres Bogotá Metropolitano de Techo 8,000
Unión Magdalena Santa Marta Sierra Nevada 16,000
Valledupar Valledupar Armando Maestre Pavajeau 11,000

The following team was relegated from the Categoría Primera A at the end of the 2021 Apertura tournament and took part in the Torneo II:

Club City Stadium Capacity
Boyacá Chicó Tunja La Independencia 20,630

Torneo I

First stage

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Atlético Huila 15 8 6 1 27 13 +14 30 Advance to the semi-finals
2 Unión Magdalena 15 9 3 3 20 10 +10 30
3 Deportes Quindío 15 6 7 2 16 11 +5 25
4 Leones 15 7 4 4 19 15 +4 25
5 Cortuluá 15 6 5 4 16 12 +4 23
6 Valledupar 15 7 1 7 25 19 +6 22
7 Fortaleza 15 6 4 5 25 22 +3 22
8 Atlético 15 5 5 5 17 14 +3 20
9 Real Cartagena 15 5 5 5 21 23 −2 20
10 Orsomarso 15 4 7 4 23 24 −1 19
11 Tigres 15 3 8 4 10 12 −2 17
12 Llaneros 15 4 3 8 11 17 −6 15
13 Boca Juniors de Cali 15 3 6 6 12 19 −7 15
14 Bogotá 15 4 3 8 17 34 −17 15
15 Barranquilla 15 3 4 8 9 17 −8 13
16 Real Santander 15 2 5 8 14 20 −6 11
Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.

Results

Home \ Away ATL HUI BAR BOC BOG COR QUI FOR LEO LLA ORS RCA RSA TIG MAG VAL
Atlético — — — — 2–2 1–0 — — 2–3 — 0–0 3–0 — 0–1 0–2 0–1
Atlético Huila 0–2 — — — 4–0 — — — 1–1 — 3–2 4–1 — 1–0 1–0 3–1
Barranquilla 0–1 0–0 — 0–1 — — 0–0 1–2 — 1–0 — — 1–0 1–0 — —
Boca Juniors de Cali 1–1 2–2 — — — — — 1–4 — — 0–0 — — — 0–1 1–2
Bogotá — — 1–0 2–1 — 2–3 1–1 — 1–3 2–1 — — 1–4 — — —
Cortuluá — 0–0 1–1 2–0 — — 0–0 3–0 — 0–2 — — 1–0 0–0 — —
Deportes Quindío 1–0 0–0 — 1–1 — — — 2–1 — — — — — — 1–0 1–2
Fortaleza 1–1 2–4 — — 3–0 — — — — — 3–1 1–1 — 2–0 1–1 3–2
Leones — — 2–1 2–0 — 1–1 0–2 0–0 — 1–0 — — 2–0 1–2 — —
Llaneros 0–2 0–2 — 0–1 — — 0–1 2–1 — — — — 0–0 — — 2–1
Orsomarso — — 2–2 — 4–2 1–2 2–1 — 1–1 0–0 — 3–3 — — — —
Real Cartagena — — 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–3 — 2–1 3–1 — — — — — —
Real Santander 2–2 2–2 — 0–1 — — 1–1 3–1 — — 1–2 0–3 — — 0–1 0–1
Tigres — — — 1–1 0–2 — 1–1 — — 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 — 1–1 —
Unión Magdalena — — 4–1 — 1–0 1–0 — — 2–0 1–2 1–1 2–1 — — — —
Valledupar — — 2–0 — 6–0 1–2 — — 0–1 — 3–4 2–0 — 0–0 1–2 —
Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Semi-finals

The eight teams that advanced to the semi-finals were drawn into two groups of four teams, with the top two teams from the first stage being seeded in each group. The winners of each group advanced to the finals.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification COR HUI LEO FOR
1 Cortuluá 6 3 2 1 13 8 +5 11 Advance to the Finals — 3–1 3–0 0–1
2 Atlético Huila 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 1–1 — 0–2 3–0
3 Leones 6 2 2 2 10 10 0 8 3–3 1–1 — 3–0
4 Fortaleza 6 2 0 4 6 12 −6 6 2–3 0–2 3–1 —
Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Yellow cards, 7) Red cards, 8) Drawing of lots.

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification QUI VAL MAG ATL
1 Deportes Quindío 6 5 1 0 8 2 +6 16 Advance to the Finals — 2–1 2–0 1–0
2 Valledupar 6 3 1 2 7 4 +3 10 0–1 — 1–1 3–0
3 Unión Magdalena 6 1 3 2 8 7 +1 6 1–1 0–1 — 5–1
4 Atlético 6 0 1 5 2 12 −10 1 0–1 0–1 1–1 —
Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Yellow cards, 7) Red cards, 8) Drawing of lots.

Finals

Cortuluá0–1Deportes Quindío
Report
  • Filigrana 33'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Bismarks Santiago
Deportes Quindío1–0Cortuluá
 Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: John Hinestroza

Deportes Quindío won 2–0 on aggregate.


 Torneo BetPlay DIMAYOR
2021–I champions 
Deportes Quindío
2nd title

Top scorers

Rank Name Club Goals
1 Colombia Steven Rodríguez Leones 16
2 Colombia Feiver Mercado Cortuluá 11
3 Colombia Adrián Parra Fortaleza 10
4 Colombia Ruyery Blanco Unión Magdalena 9
5 Colombia Mario Álvarez Real Cartagena 8
6 Colombia Yuber Asprilla Atlético Huila 7
Colombia Luis Becerra Orsomarso
Colombia Breidy Golúz Orsomarso
Colombia Gianfranco Peña Valledupar
10 Colombia Luis Felipe Gómez Leones 6
Colombia Yeison Mena Atlético

Source: Soccerway

Grand Final

The Torneo I winners Deportes Quindío played a double-legged series against the 2020 Primera B champions Atlético Huila for the first promotion berth to the Categoría Primera A for the remainder of the 2021 season. The losing team qualified for the promotion play-off.

Atlético Huila1–1Deportes Quindío
 Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Bismarks Santiago
Deportes Quindío0–2Atlético Huila
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Carlos Ortega

Atlético Huila won 3–1 on aggregate and were promoted to Categoría Primera A.

2020 and 2021–I aggregate table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Deportes Quindío (P) 48 24 17 7 61 32 +29 89 Promotion to 2021 Categoría Primera A
2 Atlético Huila (P) 48 25 14 9 69 45 +24 89
3 Cortuluá 48 23 11 14 72 48 +24 80
4 Unión Magdalena 44 21 12 11 65 43 +22 75
5 Valledupar 44 20 11 13 51 42 +9 71
6 Leones 44 16 15 13 60 49 +11 63
7 Fortaleza 38 14 10 14 54 55 −1 52
8 Bogotá 38 15 7 16 52 64 −12 52
9 Llaneros 38 11 12 15 34 39 −5 45
10 Orsomarso 32 8 15 9 40 46 −6 39
11 Boca Juniors de Cali 32 8 10 14 27 40 −13 34
12 Atlético 38 8 10 20 31 53 −22 34
13 Real Cartagena 32 8 8 16 29 45 −16 32
14 Real Santander 32 8 7 17 33 44 −11 31
15 Tigres 32 5 14 13 22 32 −10 29
16 Barranquilla 32 5 9 18 18 41 −23 24
Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.
(P) Promoted

Promotion play-off

Since the Grand Final losers Deportes Quindío also ended up as the best team in the 2020 and 2021–I aggregate table, they earned automatic promotion to the Categoría Primera A and the promotion play-off was not played.

Torneo II

First stage

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Leones 14 9 2 3 25 12 +13 29 Advanced to the semi-finals
2 Bogotá 14 8 4 2 18 9 +9 28
3 Boyacá Chicó 14 8 4 2 15 6 +9 28
4 Fortaleza 14 7 5 2 24 10 +14 26
5 Unión Magdalena 14 7 4 3 24 17 +7 25
6 Cortuluá 14 7 4 3 19 13 +6 25
7 Llaneros 14 6 5 3 20 15 +5 23
8 Real Cartagena 14 5 5 4 17 14 +3 20
9 Atlético 14 5 4 5 17 20 −3 19
10 Barranquilla 14 3 6 5 13 19 −6 15
11 Orsomarso 14 4 3 7 14 22 −8 15
12 Real Santander 14 1 7 6 15 24 −9 10
13 Valledupar 14 1 5 8 13 23 −10 8
14 Boca Juniors de Cali 14 2 1 11 8 25 −17 7
15 Tigres 14 1 3 10 6 19 −13 6
Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.

Results

Home \ Away ATL BAR BOC BOG BOY COR FOR LEO LLA ORS RCA RSA TIG MAG VAL
Atlético — — 2–1 0–1 — 0–2 0–3 1–3 — — — — 2–1 — 3–2
Barranquilla 1–1 — 1–0 — — 2–2 0–0 0–1 — — — — 2–0 — 2–1
Boca Juniors de Cali — — — 1–2 0–1 — — 1–5 — 2–1 — 0–0 1–0 0–2 —
Bogotá — 2–0 — — 2–1 — — — 2–1 3–0 0–0 1–1 — 3–1 —
Boyacá Chicó 1–0 1–1 — — — — — — 0–0 — 1–0 3–1 — 1–0 2–0
Cortuluá — — 3–1 0–0 0–2 — — 1–0 — 1–1 — 2–0 3–0 — —
Fortaleza — — 3–0 3–0 0–0 1–2 — 3–1 — 4–0 — — 2–1 — —
Leones — — — 1–0 0–0 — — — — 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 3–0 —
Llaneros 0–0 4–2 1–0 — — 1–1 1–1 4–3 — — — — — — 1–0
Orsomarso 1–2 0–0 — — 2–1 — — — 0–2 — 1–1 3–1 — 1–2 —
Real Cartagena 1–1 3–1 2–0 — — 2–0 0–1 — 2–1 — — — — — 2–2
Real Santander 0–2 1–1 — — — — 1–1 — 3–1 — 2–2 — — 3–3 1–1
Tigres — — — 0–0 0–1 — — — 0–2 1–2 1–2 2–0 — 0–0 —
Unión Magdalena 3–3 3–0 — — — 2–0 3–1 — 1–1 — 1–0 — — — 3–1
Valledupar — — 2–1 0–2 — 1–2 1–1 1–1 — 1–2 — — 0–0 — —
Source: Dimayor, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Semi-finals

The eight teams that advanced to the semi-finals were drawn into two groups of four teams, with the top two teams from the first stage being seeded in each group. The winners of each group advanced to the final and were also promoted to Categoría Primera A for 2022.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification COR BOY LEO RCA
1 Cortuluá (P) 6 4 1 1 11 2 +9 13 Advance to the Final and promotion to 2022 Categoría Primera A — 1–0 2–0 3–1
2 Boyacá Chicó 6 2 3 1 6 2 +4 9 1–0 — 1–1 4–0
3 Leones 6 1 4 1 7 8 −1 7 0–0 0–0 — 3–2
4 Real Cartagena 6 0 2 4 6 18 −12 2 0–5 0–0 3–3 —
Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Yellow cards, 7) Red cards, 8) Drawing of lots.
(P) Promoted

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MAG FOR LLA BOG
1 Unión Magdalena (P) 6 3 2 1 8 4 +4 11 Advance to the Final and promotion to 2022 Categoría Primera A — 1–0 0–0 4–1
2 Fortaleza 6 3 1 2 9 5 +4 10 0–0 — 3–1 1–2
3 Llaneros 6 2 1 3 7 7 0 7 1–2 0–1 — 2–0
4 Bogotá 6 2 0 4 7 15 −8 6 2–1 1–4 1–3 —
Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Yellow cards, 7) Red cards, 8) Drawing of lots.
(P) Promoted

Final

Cortuluá1–1Unión Magdalena
 Report
Penalties
 0–3
Referee: Yahir Cárdenas


 Torneo BetPlay DIMAYOR
2021–II champions 
Unión Magdalena
1st title

Top scorers

Rank Name Club Goals
1 Colombia Luis Felipe Gómez Leones 12
2 Colombia Diego Echeverri Llaneros 11
3 Colombia Carlos Lucumí Fortaleza 10
Colombia Jefferson Rivas Leones
5 Colombia Ethan González Unión Magdalena 8
6 Colombia Isaac Camargo Unión Magdalena 7
Colombia Iván Rivas Boyacá Chicó
Colombia Luis Sandoval Fortaleza
9 Colombia Guillermo Murillo Cortuluá 6
Colombia Franklin Navarro Real Cartagena
Argentina Franco Pedraza Bogotá

Source: Soccerway

Llaneros v Unión Magdalena controversy

On 4 December 2021, the last matchday of the Torneo II semi-final Group B, Unión Magdalena sealed their promotion to Categoría Primera A after coming back from a 1–0 deficit against Llaneros in Villavicencio with a couple of goals in quick succession in stoppage time to win the game by a 2–1 score and get promoted at the expense of Fortaleza, who were clinching promotion with the score in Villavicencio despite losing their final match to Bogotá at the same time. However, video footage of Unión Magdalena's winning goal appeared to show the Llaneros players backing off and failing to make an effort to prevent their rivals from scoring.[6] The events sparked outrage both within the country and abroad, with Colombian internationals Juan Cuadrado and Mateus Uribe expressing their displeasure, calling them "a lack of respect" and "an embarrassment for Colombian football", whilst President of Colombia Iván Duque Márquez stated it was a "national disgrace".[7][8][9]

In response to the growing backlash, as well as calls from Fortaleza to get the match annulled and Unión Magdalena's promotion reversed,[10] DIMAYOR chairman Fernando Jaramillo ordered the opening of an inquiry on the match events while also requesting the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia to investigate whether any criminal offenses had been committed,[11][12] but on 7 December 2021, Jaramillo stated that the tournament would not be paused and Unión Magdalena's promotion would not be overturned while due process was completed.[13] However, amid the ongoing inquiries, the Torneo II's final match between Cortuluá and Unión Magdalena, which was originally scheduled to be played on 11 December 2021 at Cortuluá's home stadium Estadio Doce de Octubre was postponed until further notice.[14]

On 30 December 2021 DIMAYOR's Disciplinary Commission closed the investigation on Unión Magdalena as it found no evidence implying that members of the aforementioned club had been responsible for the events that occurred in the match against Llaneros, thus confirming their promotion to Primera A. However, sources within the governing body of Colombian professional football stated that the investigation on Llaneros would remain open.[15] Five months later, it was announced that four Llaneros players who were involved in that match had been fined and suspended from all sporting and administrative activities for "committing acts against sporting dignity and decorum".[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Síntesis del primer día de la Asamblea Extraordinaria de la DIMAYOR" (in Spanish). Dimayor.com.co. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "¿Cómo y cuándo? Así se definirán ascendidos para Liga del 2021" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Dimayor definió el sistema del campeonato para el 2021" (in Spanish). Goal.com. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Dimayor define el formato de la Liga BetPlay y demás torneos 2021" (in Spanish). AS Colombia. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Real San Andrés aún no sabe dónde jugará el Torneo de la B". Vanguardia (in Spanish). 22 July 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Anger in Colombia after suspicious goal decides promotion". Sportstar. 5 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Juan Cuadrado slams suspicious goal that decided promotion in Colombia". ESPN. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Escándalo en FPC es noticia mundial: así hablan del ascenso de Unión" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 5 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  9. ^ "How a suspicious soccer goal turned into a matter of state in Colombia". El País. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Carlos Barato, presidente de Fortaleza: "Solicitamos la nulidad de Unión Magdalena vs Llaneros"" (in Spanish). Gol Caracol. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  11. ^ "COMUNICADO: PRESIDENTE DE LA DIMAYOR FRENTE A LO SUCEDIDO EN EL PARTIDO LLANEROS FC VS UNIÓN MAGDALENA" (in Spanish). DIMAYOR. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Match-fixing inquiry ordered after bizarre Colombian match between Llaneros, Union Magdalena". ESPN. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Fernando Jaramillo: "El torneo sigue, con Unión Magdalena ascendido y se jugará la final"" (in Spanish). Gol Caracol. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Aplazada la final Unión Magdalena vs Cortuluá: ¿se aproxima fallo?" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Archivan investigación contra Unión Magdalena por el juego contra Llaneros" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Dimayor sanciona a jugadores de Llaneros por 'atentar al decoro deportivo'" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.