AN amateur league soccer referee who was in a coma after being punched by a teenage player during a game in the US has died.
Ricardo Portillo, 46, died in hospital following the assault during a soccer game in the US state of Utah last weekend, police spokesman Justin Hoyal said.
Police have accused a 17-year-old player of punching Portillo after the referee 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.
The victim's family, who spoke publicly of Portillo's plight last week, has asked for privacy as they deal with his loss, Hoyal said.
Last week, Johana Portillo, 26, spoke about her father's condition. She said she wasn't at the April 27 game, but said she's been told by witnesses and detectives the player hit her father in the side of the head after he issued the yellow card.
"When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him," she said.
His friends who were there told Johana her father seemed fine at first, but then asked to be held because he felt dizzy.
They sat him down and he started vomiting blood, prompting his friend to call an ambulance.
Ricardo Portillo, 46, died in hospital following the assault during a soccer game in the US state of Utah last weekend, police spokesman Justin Hoyal said.
Police have accused a 17-year-old player of punching Portillo after the referee 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.
The victim's family, who spoke publicly of Portillo's plight last week, has asked for privacy as they deal with his loss, Hoyal said.
Last week, Johana Portillo, 26, spoke about her father's condition. She said she wasn't at the April 27 game, but said she's been told by witnesses and detectives the player hit her father in the side of the head after he issued the yellow card.
"When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him," she said.
His friends who were there told Johana her father seemed fine at first, but then asked to be held because he felt dizzy.
They sat him down and he started vomiting blood, prompting his friend to call an ambulance.
