Crime | Utah Soccer Ref in Coma After Being Punched by Teen Ricardo Portillo had just called a foul By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted May 3, 2013 3:26 PM CDT Copied Johana Portillo, center, and her sister Ana Portillo hold hands while Dr. Shawn Smith looks on during a news conference, May 2, 2013, at Intermountain Medical Center, in Murray, Utah. (Rick Bowmer) See 1 more photo A soccer referee in Utah is in a coma after being punched by a teenager during a weekend game. Police say a 17-year-old player in a recreational soccer league punched 46-year-old Ricardo Portillo on Saturday after Portillo called a foul and issued him a yellow card. Portillo remains in critical condition with swelling in his brain, and his recovery remains uncertain. "People don't know it's a game," says one of his daughters. "We're all there to have fun, not to go and kill each other." She said detectives and witnesses told her that the player hit her father in the head after the foul. "He just came out of nowhere and punched him." The teen has been booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault. Those charges could be amplified if Portillo dies. Read These Next State Department abandons a Biden-era font, blaming DEI. The US just made a big move against Venezuela. Another big brand delivers an AI-driven holiday dud. One donor, 197 kids, and a terrible genetic mutation. See 1 more photo Report an error