Soccer player sentenced to at least 8 years for killing referee

A soccer player in Michigan has been sentenced to at least eight years behind bars for delivering a fatal punch to a referee at a game last summer.

Detroit Free Press reported that Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad, 36, of Deerborn, agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of a deal with prosecutors for the death of soccer referee John Bieniewicz.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cameron sentenced Saad to between eight and 15 years in prison.

When the judge handed down the sentence he told the Lebanese immigrant, you "personify everything that is wrong" with the "escalation of violence in sports."

As previously reported, during a game at Mies Park last June, Saad punched the 44-year-old Bieniewicz after he indicated that he was going to eject him. The player then fled the scene as a stunned crowd looked on.

The blow left the ref unconscious and he died at a hospital two days later.
Saad cried after Bieniewicz’s widow spoke and told the court that he was remorseful for his actions that day.