Police have accused a 17-year-old player in a
recreational soccer league of punching Ricardo
Portillo, 46, after he called a foul on him and
issued him a yellow card.
Portillo died Saturday night after a week in a
coma.
Nearly 100 family and friends gathered at a
candlelight vigil Sunday night on the front lawn
of the Salt Lake City home of Ricardo Portillo.
Wearing white shirts and holding signs that
read, "In loving memory of Ricky," family and
friends stood around a table that had a picture
of Portillo raising his arms in victory, with
flowers and candles surrounding it.
The suspect, whose name is withheld because
he's a minor, has been booked into juvenile
detention on suspicion of aggravated assault.
Authorities will consider additional charges since
Portillo has passed away. An autopsy is planned.
No cause of death was released.
Johana Portillo said Sunday she doesn't care
what punishment the teenager gets -- saying
nothing will bring her father back.
"When he did that, he took a part of me with
him," she said, crying. "He took my daddy away
from me."
She added: "I feel sorry for him. I feel for his
family. But if he was old enough to do what he
did, then he's responsible to pay for it."
Pedro Lopez, his brother-in-law and a fellow
soccer referee, said the teenager made a
mistake and isn't solely to blame. He said he's
been involved in soccer his entire life, playing
and refereeing, and seen a troubling trend
emerge.
"It's not the ignorance of the child, it's the poor
manners of the parents," said Lopez in Spanish,
who played soccer professionally. "The yells and
insults from the sideline from the parents make
kids more violent."
Lopez, Johana Portillo and youth soccer coach
James Yapias called on athletes around the
world to hold their tempers in check so another
family doesn't have to suffer -- and to bring
something positive from Ricardo Portillo's death.
Yapias, a longtime friend of Ricardo Portillo
coach in the same league, said coaches and
parents need to do a better job teaching
children about sportsmanship and being non-
violent. He also called for more police presence
at games. Portillo's death is a reminder that life
can change in a second, he said.
"We all love this sport," Yapias said. "But we all
need to respect the rules."
Johana Portillo said she hopes her father's
death leads to more security at sporting events
and better self-control from players. She said
her father had been attacked by players twice
before in his eight years refereeing soccer
matches -- even having his ribs and legs broken.
Lopez said players need to respect referees and
remember it's a sport meant to relieve stress --
not cause pain.
"Remember that we are human beings, and we
make mistakes," Lopez said in Spanish. "Don't
take justice into your own hands."
The former professional soccer player said he
plans to continue working as a referee. He said
leaving it behind would be abandoning his
passion. He said he'll do so remembering
Ricardo Portillo.
Ricardo Portillo's daughters had begged him to
stop refereeing in a soccer league because of
the growing risk of violence from angry players.
But, like Lopez, Portillo told his daughters he
couldn't quit.
"It was his passion," she said. "We could not tell
him no."
Now his three daughters are faced with planning
his funeral after he succumbed to injuries late
Saturday that had put him in a coma for a week
since teenager goalie punched him in the head.
Accounts from a police report, Portillo's
daughter and others offer further detail what
occurred.
The teenager was playing goalie during a game
at Eisenhower Junior High School in Taylorsville
when Portillo issued him a yellow card for
pushing an opposing forward trying to score. 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 punched
him in the 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 emergency workers 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.
Johana Portillo said she last spoke to him that
night before he fell into a coma. She grabbed
his hand and told him he was going to be all
right. He held her hand tightly and said, "no."
Within seconds, doctors ushered her out of the
room and he lost consciousness.
She said Sunday night, with tears streaming
down her face, that her father will always be in
her heart.
"It's going to be very difficult," she said. "But I
know he's going to help us from heaven.". She hopes to forgive
the young man who did it -- but not yet.
"I will, but not today; it's too soon," said Johana
Portillo, 26, speaking Sunday night at a vigil to
honor her father, Ricardo Portillo. "He was a
father, he was a friend, he was a grandfather;
he left a whole family behind. They should think
before they do something stupid."

SMH. He played his last card and it was a damn good hand.