Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
MURRAY, Utah (AP) — A Utah soccer referee who slipped into a coma after being punched by a teenage player during a game a week ago died Saturday night, police said.
Ricardo Portillo, 46, of Salt Lake City passed away at the hospital, where he was being treated following an assault, Unified police spokesman Justin Hoyal said.
Police have accused a 17-year-old player in a recreational soccer league of punching Portillo after the man called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card.
"The suspect was close to Portillo and punched him once in the face as a result of the call," Hoyal said in a press release.
The teen has been booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault.
Hoyal said authorities will consider additional charges since Portillo has died.
He said an autopsy is planned. No cause of death was released.
Portillo suffered swelling in his brain and had been listed in critical condition, Dr. Shawn Smith said Thursday at the Intermountain Medical Center in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray.
The victim's family, which publicly spoke of Portillo's plight this past week, has asked for privacy, Hoyal said.
Johana Portillo, 26, said last week that she wasn't at the April 27 game in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville, but she said she's been told by witnesses and detectives that the player hit her father in the side of the head.
"When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him," she said.
Accounts from a police report, Portillo's daughter and others further detail what occurred.
The teenager was playing goalie during a game at Eisenhower Junior High School in Taylorsville when Ricardo Portillo issued him a yellow card for pushing an opposing forward trying to score a goal. In soccer, a yellow card is given as a warning to a player for an egregious violation of the rules. Two yellow cards lead to a red card and expulsion from the game.
The teenager, quite a bit heavier than Portillo, began arguing with the referee, then unleashed a punch to his face. Portillo seemed fine at first, then asked to be held because he felt dizzy. He sat down and started vomiting blood, triggering his friend to call an ambulance.
When police arrived around noon, the teenager was gone and Portillo was laying on the ground in the fetal position. Through translators, Portillo told EMTs that his face and back hurt and he felt nauseous. He had no visible injuries and remained conscious. He was considered to be in fair condition when they took him to the Intermountain Medical Center.
But when Portillo arrived to the hospital, he slipped into a coma with swelling in his brain. Johana Portillo called detectives to let them know his condition had worsened.
That's when detectives intensified their search for the goalie. By Saturday evening, the teenager's father agreed to bring him down to speak with police.
Portillo's family said he had been attacked before, and Johanna Portillo said she and her sisters begged their father to stop refereeing because of the risk from angry players, but he continued because he loved soccer.
"It was his passion," she said. "We could not tell him no."
Sounds like a homocide to me, perhaps unintentional, but he murdered the man. I'd try him as an adult and send a message. The creep didn't even call an ambulance.
The 17 year old should be charged with involuntary manslaughter. I do not believe the soccer player intend to kill the referee. Also, I question the official's health. Should he have been referring the game? I wonder if attacks in the past has contribute to the health of the official. This is important because this brings awareness to the health of officials.
Was it the second yellow card? Was that the reason the teenager reacted the way he did? Either way, that's no excuse to put your hand on a official. Accept the call or non-call and learn from it. Don't make it an excuse why things did not go your way. I wish athletes of all sports would do so, whether its recreational, high school, college or professionals. If they have a problem with the officiating, wait until after the game and speak with the officials or notify the league. Don't do it during the game and make a huge scene.
In criminal justice, you take a victim as you find him. I think that's the way they phrased it. It means it's irrelevant what his state of health is at the time he is victimized.
The kid made a choice and now he needs to be a man and face the consequences of his actions. I say manslaughter and tried as an adult.
Yes, that works.
Manslaughter - The unjustifiable, inexcusable and intentional killing of a human being without deliberation, premeditation and malice. The unlawful killing of a human without any deliberation, which may be involuntary, in the commission of a lawful act without due causation and circumspection.
Negligent Homicide - the criminal offense committed by one whose negligence is the direct and proximate cause of another's death. Criminal homicide constitutes negligent homicide when it is committed negligently.
Don't be ridiculous, he died from being punched in the face. "but for", he would still be alive n well today.
You could punch 1,000 people in the face, and the odds are pretty high that not a single one of them will die from it. Now, if we're talking about someone the size of The Rock laying a full powered uppercut against some 120 lb. guy, that's a little different.
It was a stupid kid with anger management issues. I'm not saying he was justified by any means, but c'mon now. Hell, these days I'm surprised (and glad) he didn't go to his vehicle and return with an automatic weapon.
Don't be ridiculous, he died from being punched in the face. "but for", he would still be alive n well today.
We don't know if the victim had any preexisting condition. We don't know if the victim hit his head on the ground. You and others have already decided the punishment without all of the facts. Don't pretend to be a neurosurgeon or a medical examiner.
You could punch 1,000 people in the face, and the odds are pretty high that not a single one of them will die from it. Now, if we're talking about someone the size of The Rock laying a full powered uppercut against some 120 lb. guy, that's a little different.
It was a stupid kid with anger management issues. I'm not saying he was justified by any means, but c'mon now. Hell, these days I'm surprised (and glad) he didn't go to his vehicle and return with an automatic weapon.
I've seem estimates that there are between 500 and 1000 "one punch homicides" in the US every year. I believe death usually occurs from traumatic brain damage caused when the punched victim falls and his head strikes the ground.
Manslaughter and should be tried as an adult. His parents should be charged as they left the scene with the 17 year old punk....god forbid you try and do the right thing...
Very sad and my thoughts go out to the family of the victim.
His parents should quickly dig up a 5 year old picture of him in a red Hollister shirt and hire a PR guy and attorney to explain that he was an honor roll kid majoring in cheerfulness. And that the soccer referee profiled him and stalked him around the field carrying a yellow card.
As we've been told over and over in reagrds to another 17 year old kid, a 17 year old kid can't possibly kill an adult. Adults who dare get near these "kids" deserve whatever they get.
In seriousness, he should be charged with manslaughter. This is exactly why you don't put your hands on someone who isn't hurting you, because one punch can kill someone. And it's why people have a right to defend themselves if someone does start hitting them. I feel so sorry for the referee's family.
I really can't add anything to what you've said.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
