Referee who died 'reached his goal of serving others'

Intermountain Catholic

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At his funeral, Ricardo Portillo was recalled as a man who loved his family and being a soccer referee. IC photo/Laura Vallejo

SALT LAKE CITY — Ricardo Portillo, a parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Salt Lake City, died unexpectedly after being struck by a player during a soccer game he was refereeing.

The incident occurred in a game held by La Liga Continental de Football, an unaffiliated soccer league that holds games for children ages 4 to 17 each Saturday at a junior high school field in Taylorsville. On April 27 a teenager punched Portillo in the face while he was issuing him a yellow card. Portillo was writing and didn’t see the blow coming. He fell to the ground and lay in a fetal position, complaining of pain and saying he felt nauseated, police reports show. There were no visible injuries, but when he spit up blood, an ambulance was called. He was taken to a hospital in fair condition. Hours later, he went into a coma and never regained consciousness.

The teenager has been charged with homicide by assault, a count issued when an attack unintentionally causes death.

Family and friends honored Portillo’s memory at an emotional funeral service on May 8 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. Father Fidel Barrera, pastor, and Father Javier Virgen presided.

Fr Virgen is pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Magna; he had conferred the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on Portillo at the hospital, at the family’s request.

During the service, Fr. Virgen said Portillo completed his life mission by sharing his talent for refereeing with hundreds of teenagers who played in games he worked.

"Without God we are nothing, but with him we are everything, so look for him; he will comfort you," Fr. Virgen said. "And for all of you parents – this is a lesson that when we let the emotions, good or bad, but basically the bad ones control us, the consequences are disastrous."

Family members said Portillo loved soccer, and had worked as a referee in different leagues for eight years. His oldest daughter, Johana Portillo, said he had been attacked before by players, even having his legs and ribs broken. Though his daughters begged him to quit, he said he couldn’t give up his passion.

"If Ricardo could speak he would say, ‘Don’t cry for me, I am in peace,’" said Fr. Virgen during the funeral Mass. "His best legacy was his respect, his hard work, his dedication, his example. We need to respect each other, we need to love each other, we need to forgive each other."

About 200 people attended the funeral Mass, most of them wearing white shirts bearing a picture of Portillo as a referee. Others had a drawing of an orange referee jersey in the middle with the words, "In loving memory of Ricky" around a soccer ball.

"He reached his goal of serving others, now we have to keep following ours. Always look for God and in God Ricardo will always be here with us," Fr. Virgen said.

Tony Yapias, a spokesman for the Portillo family, said Portillo was well known in the community and once said that he would someday be a famous soccer referee.

"How ironic," he said. "What has happened as a result of this is just that."

Portillo, 46, was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, but had lived in Utah for the past 17 years. After the funeral, Portillo’s remains were returned to his hometown.