SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Carlos Ortiz Cardoza, a referee for 20 years in his native El Salvador, died Monday from complications after a recent illness. He was 62.

Ortiz was a member of the FIFA referees' committee for seven years and its CONCACAF counterpart for eight years. He also was president of the El Savadoran Football Federation's referees panel for six years and was chairman of the Central American (UNCAF) referees committee for the past eight years.

"Carlos has been a very important part of the very positive developments in refereeing in CONCACAF and most significantly in Central America over the past eight years," CONCACAF President Jack Warner said "Our hearts go out to his family and the football family which will miss his guidance and direction which we have come to count on."