The recreational soccer player whose punch killed referee John Bieniewicz during a game last summer in Livonia pleaded guilty to manslaughter Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Bassel Saad, 36, of Dearborn will receive 8 to 15 years in prison as part of the plea agreement.
Bieniewicz died July 1, two days after he was punched by Saad in Livonia's Mies Park.
Saad was originally charged with second-degree murder and the trial was scheduled to begin Monday before Wayne County Circuit Judge Thomas Cameron in Detroit. If found guilty, he could have faced life in prison.
Saad will be sentenced at 9 a.m. March 13 before Judge Cameron.
"I want you to understand that the offense that you are pleading guilty to today is a deportable offense," Judge Timothy Kenny told Saad. "This plea today could have immigration consequences. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, your honor," Saad said.
Wayne County Prosecutor Erika Tusar said that the agreement came after "intense negotiations."
In 2005, Saad was involved in another assault on a soccer field. According to the police and court records, Saad hit another player repeatedly in the head. He pleaded no contest to attempted assault and battery, and was ordered to serve five days community service and 12 months probation.
Bieniewicz was 44. He worked at the pediatric dialysis center at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.
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Saad has three children and has worked for more than 10 years as an auto mechanic. He lives in Dearborn and is originally from Lebanon, according to his attorney, Cyril Hall.
Hall said that Saad he doesn't know if Saad will be deported.
"We are not here to litigate that particular controversy," Hall said.
Hall said that Saad is "distraught."
"He is very, very remorseful," Hall said. "He has been writing prayers out for several months. That's all he does. He talks about the (Bieniewicz) family first."
Kris Bieniewicz, the victim's widow, sat in the back of the courtroom but declined to comment. She has attended every court hearing. In an earlier interview with the Detroit Free Press, Kris Bieniewicz said, "I'd love to see the guy fry and I know that's not necessarily realistic… My feeling is, I think we've got a decent case."
"There is a huge discrepancy between manslaughter and Murder 2," Kris Bieniewicz continued. "Unfortunately, I'm learning more about the law than I should. Manslaughter, he could walk after a couple of years."
Bieniewicz has become an advocate for bills that would make assaulting a referee a felony. The bills are in the senate judiciary committee.
