Bassel Saad, an amateur footballer and mechanic has been sentenced to jailed and fined $9200 for killing a referee with a single punch.
The 37-year-old knocked official John Bieniewicz unconscious when the referee was about to show him a second yellow card in a Michigan United Soccer League match.
The 44-year-old referee died two days after the game last June as Bassel Saad pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The amateur footballer was sentenced on Friday to at least eight years in jail.
Wife of deceased referee, Kristen held up a red card as Saad was about to be taken from court after his sentence and said:
“I would like to serve Mr Saad with the red card that he was entitled to.”
Judge Thomas Cameron said:
“For better or for worse, you’ve come to personify all that’s wrong with many people’s belief about the escalation of violence in sports.”
The $9200 fine for Bassel Saad is meant for Mr John Bieniewicz’s funeral expenses.
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