Footballer jailed for killer-punch on ref

An amateur footballer has been jailed for killing a referee with a single punch in a Michigan United Soccer League match.

John Bieniewicz was about to show Bassel Saad a second yellow card and send the 37-year-old mechanic off when Saad knocked the official unconscious.

The referee, 44, died two days later.

Saad was sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and will be eligible for parole after eight.

As Saad was about to be taken from the court, Bieniewicz’s widow Kristen showed him a red card.

“The one final thing that I want to do is, I would like to serve Mr Saad with the red card that he was entitled to,” she said.

He must also pay his victim’s family $9,265 (£6,280) for funeral expenses and could be deported after serving the sentence.

“For better or for worse, you’ve come to personify all that’s wrong with many people’s beliefs about the escalation of violence in sports,” Judge Thomas Cameron told Saad.

The case has put a spotlight on out-of-control recreational sports games and inspired Michigan officials to consider new crimes for assaults on referees.

Saad fled the park after the attack but surrendered himself to police the next day.