Referee punched in the face by teen player dies

A referee for a recreational soccer league who was punched in the face by a teenager has died, police in Salt Lake City said.

Ricardo Portillo, 46, was refereeing a game in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville on April 27 when he cited a player for an infraction and issued him a "yellow card."

According to cnn.com, The decision, police say, prompted the 17-year-old player to turn around and punch Portillo in the face.

At first, authorities thought Portillo suffered only minor injuries from the assault. But after he was taken to a hospital, doctors discovered he had suffered serious internal head injuries, police said.

As for the teenager, he remains in juvenile detention.

Police initially charged him with aggravated assault. But with Portillo's death, authorities expect to upgrade the charges.

In the Netherlands back in December, the police charged two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old who beat a 41-year-old linesman during an amateur soccer game.

The linesman's son was playing in the game when the incident occurred -- and witnessed the attack. The linesman, Richard Nieuwenhuizen, fell into a coma and died the next day.