He was attacked while reffing a game in El Salvador
A referee has died from internal bleeding after being attacked by players and fans for showing a red card during a game in El Salvador.
Jose Arnaldo Amaya, 63, passed away as a result of the incident in which he was officiating an amateur league match at the Toluca Stadium in Miramonte, as per Marca.
Supporters and the player’s teammates brutally beat up Amaya
Distressing scenes began to occur not long after Amaya had shown one of the players a second yellow card. Incensed by the decision, the player turned his aggression towards the referee.
Along with his teammates and several supporters, the 63-year-old was heavily beaten and attacked so violently that he required urgent treatment at the Zacamil hospital.
Doctors soon discovered that Amaya was suffering from internal bleeding but were unable to rescue him.
It was later announced that he had passed away.
The Salvadoran Football Federation issued a statement condemning the attack on the referee, who had over 20 years of experience as an official.
✝️| La Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol lamenta el fallecimiento del árbitro José Arnoldo Amaya. pic.twitter.com/gVscusks93
— FESFUT (@fesfut_sv) June 13, 2022
President of the SFF, Hugo Carillo, also went on national TV to slam those who were involved in the attack on Amaya.
“As a Federation, we repudiate what happened to referee Jose Arnoldo Amaya,’ he told El Tiki Taka.
“And we trust that the authorities can find those responsible for taking the referee’s life.”
Mike Dean’s daughter was once sent death threats
Referees have been on the end of serious events in recent times, as revealed by now-retired Premier League official Mike Dean after his daughter received death threats after one of his games.
“My daughter got death threats,” he said.
“They were saying they knew where we lived and they were going to petrol bomb the house. It was pretty bad.
“My family was affected pretty badly for a couple of weeks. I just took myself off games as I wasn’t in the right frame of mind.
“I am a pretty strong person at times. I can be weak at other times. I had to be strong for the family that week. It was tough.”
Related links:
- Referee Mike Dean reveals his daughter was sent death threats after a game
- Premier League appoints third woman in top-flight history to be an assistant referee
- Scottish referee Craig Napier comes out as gay and wants ‘to see the climate change’
