Saad.

LIVONIA — A Dearborn Heights man who allegedly fatally assaulted a referee during a soccer game in Livonia on June 29 is set to begin his trial in February at the Wayne County Circuit Court.

Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad was charged with second degree murder following a scuffle in which he struck and killed referee John Bieniewicz, 44. 

Bieniewicz is survived by his wife and two children. 

Saad was participating in the soccer game when he became upset after Bieniewicz made a decision to eject him. He allegedly proceeded to punch Bieniewicz in the head following the call and then fled the scene with an acquaintance. After the referee fell to the ground, local bystanders attempted to perform CPR while authorities were notified. 

The following day, Saad turned himself in to the Livonia Police Department, where he was charged with second degree murder. He was arraigned on July 10 before Judge Kathleen McCann at the 16th District Court in Livonia. 

Saad’s defense petitioned to lower his charge from second degree murder to involuntary manslaughter, but were unsuccessful. 

Judge McCann said it appeared that Saad approached the victim with provocation and struck him with enough force to have known that it could cause death.

The Law Offices of Cyril Hall and The Law Offices of Brian T. Berry, which are both representing Saad in the case, claim the judge had no basis in making such a determination.

“We believe the judge’s determination was an exercise of passion and it was outside of principal outcomes and legal reasoning,” Hall told The Arab American News. “No one would think that when an individual is struck, that death would be the result of that. For her to take that position, it violates logic. That type of reasoning is a classic case of abuse of discretion.” 

Berry noted that the judge’s argument wouldn’t hold up in other sports games that routinely see violence among players, such as hockey, boxing and wrestling. 

“Although he intended the punch, he certainly didn’t intend great bodily harm, or even further, the result of his death,” Berry said. “This case includes a highly unique set of circumstances that were unpredicted and unexpected. That position fails to take into account all sports activities that involve physical content.”

Saad doesn’t appear to have a clean reputation, either. Prosecutors attempted to introduce evidence of a prior bad act, linking Saad to an assault and battery case in 2005. The court would eventually determine that evidence was inadmissible. 

The attorneys question whether the prosecution’s decision to charge Saad with second degree murder was politically motivated. The attorneys point to a recent case in Detroit where a man was beaten to death, but the suspects only received probation. 

“We learned there’s been a number of cases where an individual has been charged with lesser offenses than second degree, where death resulted from violent assaults,” Hall said. “For whatever reason and possibly political, the prosecutor’s office deemed he should be charged with second degree murder.” 

The case now stands before Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cameron. Saad’s defense team filed a motion at the circuit court in an attempt to reduce the charge to involuntary manslaughter, but Judge Cameron ruled that he wasn’t in a position to substitute his judgment in place of the lower court.

A jury selection is expected to take place on February 24. Hall said he hopes the circuit court will select a neutral jury who will not let sympathy and passion cloud their decision making process.  

“It’s a difficult case, but I’m still hoping we get jurors who look at it from a neutral point of view,” Hall said. “We are hoping they can determine that if a person strikes another person with one blow and doesn’t take advantage of the person when he falls, it shouldn’t constitute second degree murder.” 

Saad is married with children and may also face deportation. Berry noted that his client has been remorseful since the incident and is prepared to deal with the consequences.