A sad and tragic story from the Associated Press on Sunday, May 5, 2013, brings forth the news of a punched ref that has died. Ricardo Portillo was refereeing a youth soccer game about a week ago, and ended up being punched by a 17-year-old goalie. Portillo ended up slipping into a coma for a week and then dying on Saturday, May 4, 2013.
It appears as if the reason that the youth punched Portillo was because the referee called the goalie for a foul and then issued him a yellow card.
''The suspect was close to Portillo and punched him once in the face as a result of the call,'' Unified police spokesman Justin Hoyal in a press release.
Hoyal said that the teenager, whose name has been withheld, was booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault. Additional charges could be brought since Portillo, 46-years-old, has since died.
An autopsy is planned but no cause of death has yet been released.
"Punched ref dies" began trending this weekend, and information is coming out more and more as the story progresses.
Portillo had suffered swelling in his brain from the teenager's punch. A friend and co-worker named Mario Vasquez said everyone involved in the Liga Continental de Futbol organization loved Portillo.
''We will miss him at the soccer fields. He loved the game and loved doing his job. Ricardo always had a great sense of humor and loved being in the service of others,'' Vazquez said.''Our thoughts and prayers are with the Portillo family during this difficult time. Ricardo will always be with us,'' he said.
26-year-old Johana Portillo, the daughter of the passed ref, said she wasn't at the game, but was told how the incident went down.
''When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him,'' she said. She did not immediately respond to a text message request for comment The Associated Press sent her on Sunday.
LINK