DETROIT — On Friday, March 13, a judge sentenced Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad to 8-15 years in prison for a punch that killed 44-year-old John Bieniewicz.

“It’s murder in my eyes,” Bieniewicz’s widow, Kris, said Friday. “It will always be murder in my eyes.”

Saad was also ordered to pay more than $9,200 for Bieniewicz’s funeral expenses, as well as other costs associated with the case.

On Friday, Feb. 20, Saad pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the June 29 death of Bieniewicz, a referee he fatally punched during a soccer game. 

Saad, a Dearborn resident, was initially charged with second-degree murder. 

Saad turned himself in to the Livonia Police Department one day after the incident, which took place at Mies Park. 

In addition to his widow, Bieniewicz left behind two children.

Saad, 36, is also a father of two. Friends and fellow team players previously told The Arab American News Saad has never had a history of violence while playing soccer.