Jose Arnoldo Amaya was a referee who was a member of the National Association of Football Referees of El Salvador. He died on 13th June 2022 at the age of 63. Amaya was officiating an amateur football match at the Toluca Stadium in Miramonte when he was attacked by players after he showed a second yellow card to an aggressive player.
When he pulled the second card, the player attacked him immediately. This caused his fellow teammates to join him in brutally beating up the referee. The supporters also joined in as this caused an outrageous scene of violence.
Referee Amaya was rushed immediately to the Zacamil hospital. When they got there, doctors realised he was suffering from internal bleeding and his wounds kept getting worse as the doctors were unable to stop the bleeding.
Shortly after this, the doctors announced that he had passed away. The Salvadoran Football Federation stated after the incident that they condemned the acts of violence against the referee.
The president of El Salvador, Hugo Carillo also went on national TV to slam the act. This was what he said, “As a Federation, we repudiate what happened to referee Jose Arnoldo Amaya. And we trust that the authorities can find those responsible for taking the referee’s life.”
Referee Jose Arnoldo Amaya’s cause of death
José Arnoldo Amaya died from internal bleeding after he was beaten on the field by fans when he issued a red card to an aggressive player.
