Julio Ariz Leiva, head coach of Guatemalan club Deportivo San Pedro, was gunned down on Sunday before his team’s league match.
The 47-year-old was attacked at a restaurant in Huehuetenango, just hours before San Pedro was set to face Democracia in a match in the Primera División, the second-tier of Guatemalan soccer.
According to Dr. Estuardo González, president of San Pedro, a group of men dressed as local police interrupted a team lunch on Sunday and asked to speak with Leiva.
“During lunch break, people dressed as security forces asked for the coach and made him leave the restaurant to kill him,” González told radio station La Red Deportiva.
As far as a motive for the murder, González added: “Only God knows what the reason was.”
González also warned about the danger of playing matches in the municipality of Huehuetenango, where the U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory.
“We as a board of directors emphasize that these municipalities are dangerous for soccer,” González said.
The match between San Pedro and Democracia was quickly postponed after news of Leiva’s death.
The National Football Federation of Guatemala (FEDEFUT) released a statement on Sunday condemning the violent act that took the life of the longtime player and coach.
“FEDEFUT repudiates and strongly condemns the violence that has put our entire soccer family into mourning,” the statement said.
Leiva played for more than a decade in the top flight of Guatemalan soccer, representing Marquense, Xelajú, Petapa, Zacapa and Heredia, among others.
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