US Soccer Referee dies after player

US Soccer Referee dies after player

globalnews.ca

MURRAY, Utah – A 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, police 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,” spokesman Justin Hoyal said in a press release.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is the world we live in now I guess. What kind of parents must this kid have. This absolutely sickens me to the point of anger that someone would think a referee at a kids soccer game deserves to be hit over a call.

Has anyone else heard about this yet? I just heard from a friend and had to share as it is a sign of the times. I hope this kid gets more than just juvenile detention and is charged with involuntary manslaughter or some murder charge. This generation is absolutely DOOMED!

globalnews.ca
(visit the link for the full news article)

Pretty sad news and I hope this teenager gets his day in court.

That being said, I would not be so fast to bash the parents. Even if this kid had the best of parents, we have to realize that people make their own choices and do some crazy stuff in highly-emotional circumstances.

ETA: This event is in no way an indicator of how that particular generation conducts themselves. People are people and they are going to do what they choose to do.....no matter their age or upbringing.

This murderer needs to be tried as an adult. Hopefully his age does not prevent the prosecutors from coming down hard on him. He deserves the maximum punishment, he killed a father and a husband.

All for a yellow card.

Let him rot in prison for the rest of his life.

He knew better.

Watch out for bowling bag bob, I heard he likes to play a game.

Originally posted by Lysergic
Let him rot in prison for the rest of his life.

He knew better.

Watch out for bowling bag bob, I heard he likes to play a game.

Lethal injection sounds better to me.

You were never a 17 year old who got angry and made a mistake?

Albeit this is a HUGE mistake..

I know I punched someone before out of anger and I can admit it.

This REALLY goes to show the frailty of the human body though and why I URGE you to practice martial arts to be able to anticipate a punch such as this.

reply to post by Tylerknight


Wow, way to jump to conclusions!!!

Some refs can be absolute retards....and quite rude and unfair also....sometimes even obviously favoring another team. I've come quite close myself. In the heat of the moment...especially in rival games or important games emotions can overflow.

You have no idea of the circumstances and are sensationalising it more than needed. Yes, the kid deserves to go to jail for it....but unless you know the full circumstances to go blaming his parents or trying to make him look like a monster may be unfair.

edit: Read the article and it states he's been attacked before!!! One would suspect that an honest and fair referee would maybe not receive such treatment!!!

Yes, it's been news since the referee slipped into a coma a few days back. We've been following as my daughter plays soccer pretty intensely. This was absolutely crazy and unwarranted. Hopefully this *17* year old is tried as an adult.

Originally posted by yourmaker
You were never a 17 year old who got angry and made a mistake?

Albeit this is a HUGE mistake..

I know I punched someone before out of anger and I can admit it.

This REALLY goes to show the frailty of the human body though and why I URGE you to practice martial arts to be able to anticipate a punch such as this.

I remember when I was 17, not too long ago actually. I remember when I got mad I slammed some doors and threw around some things. But never did it cross my mind of punching someone out of anger. This kid has severe anger issues. Imagine if he's allowed to go free, get's married and the wife makes him mad? He's a danger to society.

reply to post by Mountainmeg


Please, you seem to know more. Elaborate on why it was totally unwarranted....

Originally posted by yourmaker
You were never a 17 year old who got angry and made a mistake?

Albeit this is a HUGE mistake..

I know I punched someone before out of anger and I can admit it.

This REALLY goes to show the frailty of the human body though and why I URGE you to practice martial arts to be able to anticipate a punch such as this.

Oh, yes I did stupid stuff when I was 17, including getting into a major fight with my dad and punching a locker. (Good dent in it to.) But I have *never* struck another person in anger and certainly did not sucker punch a person because of a *minor* (yes, a yellow card is MINOR) disagreement. So this goalie gets yellow carded for pushing an opposing player - considered and egregious breaking of the rules - gets caught and punches the adult he blames for catching him.

reply to post by muse7


I've punched a bus driver once because he was an A...Hole to me when I was a teen....and I had some anger issues....but I never went to jail and I am perfectly fine now and haven't been in a fight since I was 17...I'm now 29.

If the guy didn't go into a coma and didn't die then it would just be assault....not even aggravated assault because it was only one punch. What if the kid was generally not violent but was a team player and the ref made a bad/unfair call in an important game? If he already had several yellow cards accumulated from previous games and then received one in this game which meant he would miss out on, say, a Cup Final....then he's going to be irate...especially if it was a bad call.

Originally posted by LightAssassin
reply to post by Mountainmeg

 

Please, you seem to know more. Elaborate on why it was totally unwarranted....

Unwarranted because punching out the referee is a pretty stupid idea. It's not going to change the fact you got the call, and will get you ejected from the recreational program.

Unwarranted because it was a recreational program - why should someone die over a rec program? Because it was a sucker punch - the perp argued with the ref, ref explained the call, ref turned to write in his notebook, perp sucker punches him. Because you're 17, just let your anger get the better of you and ruined the lives of this man's family, yourself, and your family. And for what? A yellow card? Big freakin' deal - it's a yellow card, a warning. What on earth could warrant this violent act?

The way I look at this is that this kid, nor the community, will be better off if he goes to prison.

He got angry, threw one punch and the man happened to die. Imagine the lesson he learned from that.

Throw the kid in prison and he will become angrier, get in more fights, hit the weights....and then release him into the community where he will almost certainly be a liability.

Prison is not always the best solution.

It's sad this man had to lose his life over something as simple as a call on a play in a soccer match. Life for a life in this case, simple. We don't need people like this kid around.

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
The way I look at this is that this kid, nor the community, will be better off if he goes to prison.

He got angry, threw one punch and the man happened to die. Imagine the lesson he learned from that.

Throw the kid in prison and he will become angrier, get in more fights, hit the weights....and then release him into the community where he will almost certainly be a liability.

Prison is not always the best solution.

Had it been your father, brother, uncle, or grandfather, would you feel that way? Let him go because he likely learned his lesson after realizing he killed the man he had the intention of hurting and inflicting pain on.

Originally posted by LightAssassin
reply to post by muse7

 

I've punched a bus driver once because he was an A...Hole to me when I was a teen....and I had some anger issues....but I never went to jail and I am perfectly fine now and haven't been in a fight since I was 17...I'm now 29.

If the guy didn't go into a coma and didn't die then it would just be assault....not even aggravated assault because it was only one punch. What if the kid was generally not violent but was a team player and the ref made a bad/unfair call in an important game? If he already had several yellow cards accumulated from previous games and then received one in this game which meant he would miss out on, say, a Cup Final....then he's going to be irate...especially if it was a bad call.

No actually this would have been a case of aggravated assault since this kid punched the referee in the face. But it seems as if you're making an excuse for this sort of behavior. There is NO excuse whatsoever to punch someone in the face, unless you are being attacked. It doesn't matter if this was the world cup final. This kid killed someone as a result of bad anger issues and hopefully he'll be given a lengthy stay at the state penitentiary so he can work on them.

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
The way I look at this is that this kid, nor the community, will be better off if he goes to prison.

He got angry, threw one punch and the man happened to die. Imagine the lesson he learned from that.

Throw the kid in prison and he will become angrier, get in more fights, hit the weights....and then release him into the community where he will almost certainly be a liability.

Prison is not always the best solution.

So what's the solution then? Let him off on probation and keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't go off on anyone again?

reply to post by FidelityMusic


reply to post by muse7


Put this kid to work in the community. Make him do something to "repay his debt" in a meaningful way, instead of giving him free food, lodging and safety in a prison.

If we just send him to prison, he will most likely come out a more hardened person and will be right back in the pen in no time.

How does that solve anything?

Just to add a bit of info to explain where my opinion comes from:

My uncle's second wife was killed by a drunk driver. The man was sentenced to many years in prison and my uncle was really ticked about it.

When my Dad asked why, he said that he would rather see this man shovel dog crap out of his yard for the next 20 years, rather than be pampered at a state penitentiary.