McDonald Mariga receives five-match ban for squeezing referee’s hand so hard it drew blood

News that Macdonald Mariga has been suspended for five Serie ‘B’ matches has been received with surprise by two former Harambee Stars coaches.

International agencies reported that the former Inter midfielder had been banned for five games after squeezing a referee’s hand so hard it drew blood.

Mariga, playing for Latina in Italy’s Serie B, was sent off in the 96th minute of their 1-0 home defeat against Virtus Entella on Sunday.

The Kenya international then attempted to give the referee a handshake as he exited the field, gripping it so hard it caused an abrasion, drawing blood.

 

OUT OF CHARACTER

The disciplinary commission’s report also revealed the 29-year-old directed various insults towards the match official after being shown the red card.

Mariga played for Inter between 2010 and 2014 before signing on with Latina following a stint at Parma.

Latina are 17th in the Serie B table, just one point above the relegation zone with four games left in the season.

But former Harambee Stars coaches Jacob Mulee and Francis Kimanzi insisted that was out of character for Mariga.

Said Mulee: “It is not like him and it only proves two things: Either he is frustrated or things just got out of control.”

Mulee said it was unheard of for Mariga to pick even a yellow card while playing in the local league.

“It was unusual for him to even be yellow carded in the KPL while at Harambee Stars, he could hardly say a word to the referee. He is a very humble person,” he pointed out.

Kimanzi said he does not believe that Mariga reacted as is being reported insisting that the player is very calm.

“It was a second yellow card and so my opinion is that he was probably upset with the referee for punishing him and yet it could have been a soft foul. In the years that I have known him, he never reacts whenever a referee makes a decision against him. Perhaps he was just trying to express himself to the referee and since we did not watch the game it is difficult to say what happened,” he said.