McDonald Mariga's club relegated to Serie C

Former Harambee Stars midfielder McDonald Mariga's club Unione Sportiva Latina Calcio has been relegated to Italy's third tier league- Serie C.

Latina’s relegation was confirmed after being docked five points for non-commitment to pay players’ salaries for the better part of the season.

The team finished bottom of the 22-team Serie B with a paltry 32 points, 46 points behind SPAL, who were crowned champions and also secured promotion to the 2017/18 Serie A league alongside runners-up Hellas Verona.

“Latina have been given a further five point deduction, confirming their relegation from Serie B. The Lazio-based club have repeatedly failed to pay wages on time this season, and have twice been hit with a one point penalty.

“Today the Lega Serie B confirmed that an additional five point deduction has been imposed, a ruling which mathematically confirms Latina’s relegation,” a statement on Italian portal, Football Italia, read.

The team suffered a 2-1 loss in their final round fixture away to Avellino on Thursday last week. Mariga, 30, joined the club in January 2016 on an initial six month contract that was extended for a further 12 months in July 2016.

The former Inter Milan and Real Sociedad star had previously featured for Parma, which was relegated to Serie D – Italy’s fourth division, in June 2015, owing to bankruptcy.

While at Latina, Mariga managed 28 league appearances, last featuring in a 1-0 win away to Virtus Entella in April this year.

According to FoStats.com, the former Tusker FC and Kenya Pipeline defensive midfielder has scored five goals in 48 appearances for Kenya.

He last featured for Stars in a goalless draw against Burundi in an international friendly match played at the Nyayo National Stadium in July 2015.