A referee has been shot dead during a neighbourhood football match in Ecuador, sending shockwaves through the local community.
The victim was identified as 48-year-old Javier Ortega, with the attack occurring in front of dozens of people watching the match in the town of Pasaje in Ecuador’s coastal province of El Oro on Sunday, according to reports from the country.
Eyewitnesses said multiple unidentified gunmen approached the referee during the match before opening fire. The killers then fled the scene.
Ortega, a well-known local referee who had been officiating the amateur match, was declared dead at the scene despite emergency services arriving promptly.
The match was immediately abandoned as players and spectators scrambled for cover, while local authorities later closed off access to the area to allow forensic investigators to examine the scene.
The organising club has suspended future matches until the circumstances of the incident are clarified, while family members of the victim were also reportedly at the scene demanding a swift investigation.
The victim was identified as 48-year-old Javier Ortega, with the attack occurring in front of dozens of people watching the match in Ecuador’s coastal province of El Oro
Authorities have meanwhile opened a police investigation, with the incident being considered a targeted killing
Authorities have meanwhile opened a police investigation, with the incident being considered a targeted killing.
A football official paid tribute to the victim, and was quoted in The Sun saying: ‘Javier was a dedicated official, to lose a life over a game of football is unacceptable.’
The police were also quoted in The Sun stating that officers were ‘currently reviewing mobile phone footage’.
‘(We are) interviewing witnesses to identify the perpetrators,’ they reportedly said.
‘This is a cold-blooded crime committed in a space meant for community and sport.’
This latest episode of violence has raised concerns about security at community sporting events in Ecuador.
Last month the Ecuadorean government deployed more than 75,000 police officers and soldiers to four of the country’s most violence-wracked provinces, according to the interior minister. Amongst them was El Oro, where this latest incident occurred.
Since coming to office in November 2023, President Daniel Noboa has tried to combat criminal organisations in his country with an iron fist and has declared several states of emergency but nevertheless the murder rate rose by over 30 per cent between 2024 and 2025 – a record high.
There were 9,216 cases recorded in 2025, compared to 7,063 in 2024.
