| Competition: | Liga I |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Dates: | 15 July 2021 – 29 May 2022 |
| Relegated: | Gaz Metan Mediaș Academica Clinceni Dinamo București |
| Winners: | CFR Cluj |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | CFR Cluj |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa Conference League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | FCSB Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe Universitatea Craiova |
| League Topscorer: | Florin Tănase (20 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (18 April 2022) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (17 February 2022) (7 May 2022) |
| Highest Scoring: | (17 February 2022) |
| Longest Wins: | 9 matches CFR Cluj |
| Longest Losses: | 13 matches Gaz Metan |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 21 matches CFR Cluj |
| Longest Winless: | 17 matches Academica Clinceni |
| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
| Updated: | 27 May 2022 |
The 2021–22 Liga I (also known as Casa Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons) was the 104th season of the Liga I, the top professional league for Romanian association football clubs. The season started on 15 July 2021 and ended in May 2022.[1] It was the seventh to take place since the play-off/play-out format has been introduced, and CFR Cluj was four-time defending champion.
After the conclusion of the regular season, teams were divided according to their place to enter either the championship play-offs or the relegation play-outs.[2]
The teams ranked 15th and 16th at the end of the play-out tournament were directly relegated, while the 13th and 14th places played a promotion/relegation play-off against 3rd and 4th places from Liga II.[2]
The league consistsed of 16 teams: 12 from the 2020–21 Liga I, two teams from the 2020–21 Liga II, and the winners of the 2020–21 promotion/relegation play-off.
Teams promoted to the Liga I
The first club to be promoted was FC U Craiova 1948, following their 0–0 draw against Miercurea Ciuc on 13 May 2021. FC U Craiova returned in the Liga I after 10 years of absence.[3]
The second club to be promoted was Rapid București, following their 1–3 defeat against FC U Craiova on 17 May 2021. Rapid returned in the Liga I after 6 years of absence.[4]
The third club to be promoted was Mioveni, following their 2–1 win against Hermannstadt on 2 June 2021, in the promotion/relegation play-offs. Mioveni returned in the Liga I after 9 years of absence.[5]
Teams relegated to the Liga II
The first club to be relegated was Politehnica Iași, which were relegated on 15 May 2021 following a 0–1 defeat against Hermannstadt, ending their 7-year stay in the top flight.[6]
The second club to be relegated was Astra Giurgiu, which were relegated on 19 May 2021 following their 0–1 defeat against Viitorul Constanța, ending their 12-year stay in the top flight.[7]
The third club to be relegated was Hermannstadt, which were relegated on 2 June 2021 following their 1–2 defeat against Mioveni in the promotion/relegation play-offs, thus ending their 3-year stay in the top flight.[8]
Other changes
In June 2021, Gheorghe Hagi (owner of Viitorul Constanța), chairman Gheorghe Popescu and Farul Constanța owner Ciprian Marica announced in a press conference that their two clubs have merged; second division club Farul Constanța therefore took Viitorul's place in the first league from the 2021–22 Liga I season.[9] [10] [11]
| FCSB | Universitatea Craiova | FC U Craiova 1948 | CFR Cluj | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Națională | Ion Oblemenco | Ion Oblemenco | Dr. Constantin Rădulescu | |
| Capacity: 55,634 | Capacity: 30,929 | Capacity: 30,929 | Capacity: 23,500 | |
| Dinamo București | Argeș Pitești | Rapid București | UTA Arad | |
| Dinamo | Nicolae Dobrin | Rapid | Francisc von Neuman | |
| Capacity: 15,032 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 14,050 | Capacity: 12,700 | |
| Chindia Târgoviște | Mioveni | |||
| Municipal | Orășenesc | |||
| Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 10,000 | |||
| Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe | Gaz Metan Mediaș | |||
| Sepsi | Gaz Metan | |||
| Capacity: 8,400 | Capacity: 7,814 | |||
| Botoșani | Voluntari | Farul Constanța | Academica Clinceni | |
| Municipal | Anghel Iordănescu | Viitorul | Clinceni | |
| Capacity: 7,782 | Capacity: 4,600 | Capacity: 4,554 | Capacity: 4,500 | |
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academica Clinceni |  | Răzvan Patriche | Joma | Consiliul Județean Ilfov | |
| Argeș Pitești | | Ionuț Șerban | Macron | Getica 95, MozzartBet | |
| Botoșani | |  Enriko Papa | Erreà | Trutzi, Elsaco | |
| CFR Cluj | | Mário Camora | Nike | eToro | |
| Chindia Târgoviște | | Daniel Florea | Joma | – | |
| Dinamo București |  | Gabriel Torje | Macron | Unibet | |
| Farul Constanța | | Ionuț Larie | Nike | OMV Petrom | |
| FCSB | | Florin Tănase | Nike | ||
| FC U Craiova 1948 |  | Dragoș Albu | Adidas | Justice for Craiova | |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | |  Nasser Chamed | Joma | Romgaz | |
| Mioveni | | Ionuț Burnea | Macron | Mioveni | |
| Rapid București | | Cristian Săpunaru | Nike | Superbet, Aqua City | |
| Sepsi OSK | | Bogdan Mitrea | Adidas | Diószegi, Gyermelyi | |
| Universitatea Craiova | | Nicușor Bancu | Puma | Betano | |
| UTA Arad | | Florin Iacob | Saller | Efbet, International Alexander Holding | |
| Voluntari | | Cosmin Achim | Nike | Metropola TV |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC U Craiova 1948 | | Sacked | 24 May 2021[12] | Pre-season | | 2 June 2021[13] |
| FCSB | | End of contract | 31 May 2021 | Pre-season | | 1 June 2021[14] |
| CFR Cluj | | End of contract | 31 May 2021 | Pre-season | | 2 June 2021[15] |
| Farul Constanța | | End of contract | 31 May 2021 | Pre-season | | 21 June 2021 |
| Dinamo București | | Resigned | 10 July 2021[16] | Pre-season | | 14 July 2021[17] |
| Universitatea Craiova | Sacked | 23 July 2021[18] | 4 | | 26 July 2021[19] | |
| FCSB | | Sacked | 17 August 2021 | 4 | | 18 August 2021 |
| CFR Cluj | | Sacked | 27 August 2021 | 1 | | 31 August 2021 |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | | Sacked | 15 September 2021 | 15 | | 17 September 2021 |
| Academica Clinceni | | Sacked | 15 September 2021 | 16 | | 21 September 2021 |
| Dinamo București | | Sacked | 14 September 2021 | 14 | | 29 September 2021 |
| FC U Craiova 1948 | | Sacked | 4 October 2021 | 13 | | 5 October 2021 |
| Sepsi OSK | | Sacked | 7 October 2021 | 12 | | 8 October 2021 |
| FC U Craiova 1948 | | Sacked | 3 November 2021 | 12 | | 6 November 2021 |
| FCSB | | Resigned | 13 November 2021 | 2 | | 1 December 2021 |
| Academica Clinceni | | Sacked | 1 December 2021 | 16 | | 6 December 2021 |
| FC U Craiova 1948 | | Sacked | 4 December 2021 | 14 | | 11 January 2022 |
| Dinamo București | | Sacked | 21 December 2021 | 15 | | 22 December 2021 |
| UTA Arad | | Resigned | 31 January 2022 | 10 | | 31 January 2022 |
| Academica Clinceni | | Resigned | 4 February 2021 | 16 | | 15 February 2021 |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | | Resigned | 17 February 2022 | 14 | | 18 February 2022 |
| Rapid Bucuresti | | Sacked | 2 March 2022 | 9 | | 3 March 2022 |
| Dinamo Bucuresti | | Resigned | 8 March 2022 | 14 | | 8 March 2022 |
In the regular season the 16 teams will meet twice for a total of 30 matches per team, with the top 6 advancing to the Championship play-offs and the bottom 10 qualifying for the relegation play-outs.
The top six teams from Regular season will meet twice (10 matches per team) for places in 2022–23 UEFA Champions League and 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League as well as deciding the league champion. Teams start the Championship round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season.[20]
The bottom ten teams from the regular season meet once to contest against relegation. Teams started the play-out round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season. The winner of the Relegation round finish 7th in the overall season standings, the second placed team – 8th, and so on, with the last placed team in the Relegation round being 16th.[20]
In the semi-final, the 7th and 8th-placed teams of the Liga I typically play a one-legged match on the ground of the better placed team (7th place). However the 7th place team, Sepsi, has already qualified to the Europa Conference League as Romanian Cup winners, so the semi-final was not played. In the final, the 8th place team will play the team ranked in the last UEFA Europa Conference League spot in the play-off tournament. The winner of the final will enter the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The 13th and 14th-placed teams of the Liga I faced the 3rd and 4th-placed teams of the Liga II.
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deian Sorescu | Dinamo | FC Voluntari | 3–2 (H) | 19 July 2021 |
 Jefte Betancor | Farul Constanța | Academica Clinceni | 5–0 (H) | 13 September 2021 |
| Andrei Ivan | Universitatea Craiova | CS Mioveni | 5–2 (H) | 30 October 2021 |
| Gabriel Debeljuh | CFR Cluj | Dinamo | 4–1 (H) | 6 March 2022 |
| Florin Tănase | FCSB | Farul Constanța | 0–4 (A) | 25 April 2022 |
| Year | Month | Player | scope=col | Nationality | scope=col | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | August | Cristian Săpunaru | DF | Rapid București | ||||
| September | Jefté Betancor | FW | Farul Constanța | [21] | ||||
| October | Andrei Ivan | FW | Universitatea Craiova | [22] | ||||
| November | Alexandru Cicâldău | MF |  Galatasaray | [23] | ||||
| December | Gabriel Tamaș | DF | FC Voluntari | [24] | ||||
| 2022 | February | Gustavo Vagenin | FW | Universitatea Craiova | [25] | |||
| March | Octavian Popescu | FW | FCSB | [26] | ||||
| April | Darius Olaru | MF | FCSB | [27] | ||||
| May | Marius Ștefănescu | FW | Sepsi OSK | [28] |
| Year | Month | Manager | scope=col | Nationality | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | August | Mihai Iosif | Rapid București | |||
| September | Liviu Ciobotariu | FC Voluntari | ||||
| October | Laurențiu Reghecampf | Universitatea Craiova | ||||
| November | Andrei Prepeliță | FC Argeș | ||||
| December | Dan Petrescu | CFR Cluj | ||||
| 2022 | February | Nicolò Napoli | FC U Craiova 1948 | |||
| March | Răzvan Lucescu | PAOK | ||||
| April | Adrian Mutu | Rapid București | ||||
| May | Cristiano Bergodi | Sepsi OSK |
