Soccer was a passion for 44-year-old John Bieniewicz, who lived and loved the game. 
 
 The married father of two sons was refereeing a match on Sunday when authorities said a 36-year-old player punched him in the head, knocking him unconscious. 
 
 Doctors declared Bieniewicz of Westland brain dead Tuesday, but he is being kept on a ventilator until his organs can be harvested and donated through Gift of Life, said James Acho, Bieniewicz’s friend of 30 years. 
 
 Those who knew Bieniewicz, who worked as the lead medical assistant in the Pediatric Chronic Dialysis unit at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, described him as family man and a huge fan of the University of Michigan who was always in a good mood. 
 
 “He’s a fantastic human being,” Acho said. “A guy who lives life to the fullest.” 
 
 ■ Audio: Listen to the 911 call 
 
 Witnesses told the Free Press that Bieniewicz was punched when he was about to eject a player, who had been complaining about a call made during the match in Livonia, resulting in a second violation to be issued against him. Several people playing on the opposing team of Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad, the man accused of throwing the punch, said Bieniewicz was looking down, trying to get a violation card when it happened. 
 
 “John had no idea it was coming,” said Matt Tunstall, 41, of Ann Arbor, who said he was about 10-15 yards away, waiting to come into the game. 
 
 He hit the ground at Mies Park, and stunned players ran onto field and noticed he wasn’t breathing. 
 
 “He turned blue immediately,” said Daniel Winkler, 33, of Lathrup Village. “My wife called 911.” 
 
 Witnesses said Bieniewicz did nothing to provoke the attack and officiated neutrally. They called what happened “outrageous” and “unfathomable.” The match was being played by men ages 30 and older. 
 
 Saad fled, and some players got the license plate number and a description of the vehicle to give to police, players said. 
 
 Meanwhile, Dr. Jamal Saleh, a player in the game, performed CPR on the victim until EMS arrived, he said in a comment on freep.com. 
 
 “We are all shocked and deeply saddened by these events,” he wrote. 
 
 'We must keep open minds' 
 
 Saad of Dearborn was arraigned Monday on a felony charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and received a $500,000 cash/surety bond. 
 
 “The charges will be reviewed and amended when appropriate confirmations are made and other necessary documentation is received,” said Maria Miller, a spokeswoman with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. 
 
 Saad’s attorney, Brian Berry, said his client cooperated with the police investigation and voluntarily turned himself in. 
 
 “Our hearts are saddened to learn of the passing of John Bieniewicz. May God bless him and his family members as they deal with this loss,” Berry said in an e-mail to the Free Press. 
 
 “Based on certain witness statements that have not yet been published, it is believed that the facts of this case have been mischaracterized,” the e-mail said. “Mr. Saad is presumed innocent unless and until a fact finder determines differently. As tragic as this event is, we must keep open minds and listen and wait for all the facts of this case to unfold.” 
 
 A preliminary examination is set for July 10 in 16th District Court in Livonia, authorities said. 
 
 Friends, others help 
 
 Bieniewicz, who never regained consciousness after being hit, was licensed to referee professional, collegiate, high school and recreation league soccer and often worked up to three matches on a Saturday, friends said. 
 
 A memorial site has been created at JohnBieniewiczMemorial.com, which links to a GoFundMe site established to help with funeral and burial expenses and to also help his children, ages 9 and 13, moving forward. As of this evening, more than $17,000 had been raised. 
 
 “One senseless act in the blink of an eye has affected so many,” Acho said. 
 
 Assault death wouldn't be first 
 
 Bieniewicz was refereeing a match in the Michigan United Soccer League on Sunday between the Metro Rangers and the Bintjbeil Stars, players said. An official with the league did not return messages left Tuesday. 
 
 While rare, it’s not the first time a referee has died after being assaulted. In 2013 in Utah, a 17-year-old was accused of punching Ricardo Portillo in the head because he didn’t like the referee’s call during a game. Portillo died, leaving behind three daughters, and the teen pleaded guilty to a charge of homicide by assault in juvenile court. 
 
 Metro Detroit players, many who have been playing soccer for decades, say they’ve never seen anything close to what happened in Livonia on Sunday. 
 
 “I’ve never ever, ever seen any act like this in any capacity,” said Tunstall, who has played the game for 36 years. 
 
 He has seen some players get heated and come chest to chest with a referee or even poke one, or players grab each other when they are upset, but never punch a person. 
 
 “At the end of the day, we have families, we have jobs, we really do it for the love of the game,” he said. “Every minute it just replays over in my head. It’s just a shock and just so disappointing and sad.” ||||| DETROIT (AP) — A man who was punched in the head over the weekend while refereeing an adult-league soccer match in suburban Detroit died Tuesday, authorities and a longtime friend of the referee said. 
 
 An undated photo provided by the Livonia Police Department is of Baseel Abdul-Amir Saad. Saad, a Detroit-area soccer player who police say critically injured a referee by punching him during a match... (Associated Press) 
 
 John Bieniewicz, who was attacked Sunday at a park in Livonia, died at Detroit Receiving Hospital, said hospital spokesman Alton Gunn, Livonia police and the man's longtime friend, Jim Acho. 
 
 Police Lt. Tom Goralski said a 36-year-old man punched Bieniewicz in the head after the referee indicated he planned to eject the man from the game. Baseel Abdul-Amir Saad of Dearborn was arraigned Monday on a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm. The Wayne County prosecutor's office said the charges would be reviewed and possibly amended when it had the necessary documentation. 
 
 Bieniewicz, 44, was a dialysis technician at Mott Children's Hospital who lived in the Detroit suburb of Westland with his wife and two sons, said Acho, who was a classmate of Bieniewicz's at Catholic Central High School. 
 
 "I speak for all his friends when I say we are devastated. Crushed. Just a senseless way for a great guy to go out," Acho said. "He deserved better." 
 
 Bieniewicz, Acho said, was the only student-athlete in the class of 1988 to letter in both football and basketball at the ultra-competitive Detroit-area parochial school. Acho, who ran a basketball camp with Bieniewicz for four years after high school, said his 6-foot-5 friend would "wow the kids with dunks." 
 
 But much to the surprise of his friends, Bieniewicz gravitated to soccer. He had been a well-respected referee for two decades. 
 
 Another friend, Anthony Arrington, said he would often seek Bieniewicz's advice when coaching his sons' youth soccer teams. 
 
 "We have a special bond," said Arrington, who added that Bieniewicz's passion for soccer spurred members of their group of friends to watch the World Cup in Brazil. 
 
 "Just heartbroken. Just a good person, good family man," Arrington said. 
 
 Bieniewicz was doing what he loved on Sunday when he was attacked, Acho said. 
 
 Saad was not at Mies Park when police arrived, but surrendered Monday, Goralski said. At Saad's arraignment in Livonia District Court, bond was set at $500,000 and a probable-cause hearing was set for July 10. 
 
 Saad's lawyer, Brian Berry, said his client was cooperating with police and was not guilty of the charge. 
 
 "As the case progresses we expect to learn the cause of the referee's injuries," Berry said. 
 
 Acho said a fund was being set up to help pay for his friend's funeral and burial expenses as well as his children's futures. Bieniewicz's organs were being donated, Acho said. 
 
 Violence is not unheard of in soccer and other sports. The recorded telephone message at the National Association of Sports Officials in Racine, Wisconsin, says, "For NASO insurance or assault information, press 3." 
 
 Barry Mano — the president and founder of NASO, which has 21,000 dues-paying members in sports ranging from football and soccer to rodeo and water polo — said his group spends 20 percent of its time on assault and liability-related issues, up from around 3 percent 20 years ago. 
 
 "When we're unhappy with sports officials, irrespective if the calls are right or wrong, the idea that we believe that we can go smack somebody because we're unhappy is disturbing," he said. 
 
 In April 2013, a 17-year-old player punched referee Ricardo Portillo after being called for a foul during a soccer game in Taylorsville, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Portillo, a father of three, died after a week in a coma. The teen pleaded guilty to a homicide charge. 
 
 In Brazil last year, a 20-year-old referee was killed, dismembered and decapitated by spectators after he stabbed a player to death during an amateur soccer match. And a volunteer linesman was beaten to death following a 2012 youth amateur match outside Amsterdam. Six teenage players and the father of one of the boys were convicted of manslaughter. 
 
 It's part of a worrying trend, Mano said. 
 
 "We have trouble getting men and women and young people to come into refereeing. No duh. This is the reason why," he said. ||||| CHARGED. REPORTING FROM ROSEVILLE, I'M PRIYA MANN, LOCAL 4. Carmen: HE WAS A HUSBAND AND A FATHER, DOING WHAT HE LOVED, UNTIL AN ATTACK ON THE FIELD COST HIM HIS LIFE. Devin: JOHN BIENIEWICZ DIED AFTER BEING SUCKER PUNCHED BY A PLAYER DURING A GAME. WE'LL TALK TO DR. McGEORGE HOW ONE PUNCH CAN BE SO DEADLY. Carmen: BUT FIRST, LET'S GO TO ROGER WEBER WITH HOW HIS FELLOW REFEREES AND COMMUNITY ARE REMEMBERING HIM TONIGHT. Roger: JOHN BIENIEWICZ WAS GREATLY RESPECTED IN THE SOCCER COMMUNITY. FELLOW REFEREES ARE TAKING THIS SENSELESS TRAGEDY VERY HARD. JOHN BIENIEWICZ MADE A STRONG POSITIVE IMPRESSION IN THE SOCCER COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY AT HIGH VELOCITY SPORTS IN CANTON AND REFEREED HERE DURING THE WINTER MONTHS DURING THE LAST 8 YEARS. HE WOULD COME TOERL TALK SOCCER. Roger: HE WOULD REFEREE UP TO FIVE GAMES A DAY, WHICH IS LIKE RUNNING A MARATHON. HE WAS ASSIGNED TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL GAMES AND HE SOMETIMES REFEREED WITH HIM. JOHN HAD GREAT CHARACTER AND HE WAS A PHENOMENAL REFEREE, AN EXCELLENT REFEREE. Roger: ON SUNDAY, HE WAS ABOUT TO PULL A RED CARD FROM HIS POCKET, EJECTING A PLAYER, WHO THEN SUCKER PUNCHED HIM. THE HUSBAND AND FATHER OF TWO DIED TODAY. POLICE HAVE CHARGED 36-YEAR-OLD BASEEL SAAD. AND IT'S REALLY, REALLY HARD BECAUSE NOT ONLY DID I LOSE A GREAT REFEREE, BUT I LOST A GREAT FRIEND. Roger: 10,000 TO 15,000 PEOPLE REFEREE SOCCER GAMES IN MICHIGAN AND HE HOPES THAT PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THEY'RE DOING A DIFFICULT JOB AS BEST THEY CAN. THEY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, IT'S JUST A GAME! IT'S JUST A GAME! IT'S REALLY NOT NECESSARY TO DISAGREE WITH THE REFEREE. TAKE THE CALL ON MOVE ON. Roger: ASSAULT CHARGES AGAINST THE DEFENDANT ARE GOING TO BE UPGRADED NOW THAT JOHN HAS DIED. A MEMORIAL FUND HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO HELP HIS FAMILY. YOU CAN GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT ON CLICKONDETROIT.COM. REPORTING LIVE FROM LIVONIA, ROGER WEBER, LOCAL 4. Devin: I KNOW A LOT OF REFEREES WORRY ABOUT THIS THING HAPPENING. HOW DO YOU PREVENT IT? Roger: SOME SUGGEST TOUGHER PENALTIES FOR PLAYERS WHO WOULD PHYSICALLY OR VERBALLY ABUSE REFEREES, BUT IN THIS CASE, NO ONE SAW THIS KIND OF PUNCH COMING. BUT THEY DON'T WANT FANS AND PLAYERS TO FORGET ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN. THEY HOPE THEY WILL RECALL THIS AND JUST HOLD THEIR TEMPER. REMEMBER, IT'S A GAME AND SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT FUN AND FITNESS. Carmen: AND OFTENTIMES, IT HAPPENS SO QUICKLY, NOT A WHOLE LOT OF TIME THERE. THIS TRAGEDY HAS LEFT MANY WONDERING HOW IT'S POSSIBLE TO DIE FROM A SINGLE BLOW TO THE HEAD. DR. FRANK McGEORGE JOINS US TO EXPLAIN. IT CAN HAPPEN AS WE SAW. Dr. McGeorge: IT CAN HAPPEN. IT'S NOT COMMON FOR PEOPLE TO DIE FROM A SINGLE BLOW TO THE HEAD, BUT IT DOES HAPPEN. IT'S MORE LIKELY IN CIRCUMSTANCES LIKE THIS WHERE SOMEONE IS CAUGHT OFF GUARD BECAUSE THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE THE FORCE OF THE BLOW BY SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AND TURNING YOUR HEAD OR TENSING YOUR NECK MUSCLES, LIKE IN A CAR ACCIDENT. IF YOUR HEAD IS STRUCK AND THERE'S NO MUSCLE CONTROL, IT MOVES MUCH FASTER. THE BRAIN ACTUALLY HAS THE CONSISTENCY OF LIKE FIRM JELL-O. SO WHEN YOU'RE HIT, IT'S LIKE SHAKING JELL-O IN A JAR AND CAUSES SMALL TEARS IN THE BRAIN FROM THE RAPID DECELEBRATION AND ACCELERATION. IF THE PLEADING IS SEVERE, IT CAUSES DEATH QUICKLY. EVEN WHEN THERE'S NO BLEEDING, THE SWELLING OF THE BRAIN FROM THE GENERAL DAMAGE INCREASES THE PRESSURE IN THE SKULL WHICH CUTS OFF THE BLOOD FLOW. EVEN WITHOUT BREAKING THE SKULL, THE FORCE CAN KILL SOMEONE. AND THAT'S WHY THINGS LIKE THE KNOCKOUT GAME AND THINGS LIKE THAT ARE SO DANGEROUS. AND IT'S BEING CAUGHT OFF GUARD. Devin: THIS HAS HAPPENED -- IT HAPPENED LAST YEAR IN UTAH, A REFEREE DIED FROM BEING HIT. Dr. McGeorge: I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT SOCCER. IT HAPPENED LAST YEAR IN A SOCCER GAME AND HAPPENED IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SPORTS. IT'S NOT COMMON. PEOPLE GET HIT ALL THE TIME IN FIGHTS, BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING ABOUT GETTING CAUGHT OFF GUARD BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO OPPORTUNITY TO PROTECT YOURSELF. Carmen: AND NOBODY WANTS TO GET A CARD. ||||| John Bieniewicz was a man who lived life to the fullest. He had a 
 
 passion for his family, a passion for the kids at Mott Children's 
 
 Hospital, and a passion for soccer. John died doing what he loved: 
 
 officiating a soccer game. John was a licensed soccer referee at all 
 
 levels, professional, collegiate, high school and children's leagues, 
 
 was the president of the Metro Detroit Soccer Officials Organization, 
 
 and would often referee 3 games on a Saturday. He also took a particular 
 
 interest in all the children he worked with Monday thru Friday at the 
 
 pediatric dialysis center at Mott, and reveled in their improvement and 
 
 happiness. But most importantly, he was a devoted family man, a proud 
 
 husband and father of two boys. The boys will miss his fatherly 
 
 guidance and support but they will also miss his financial support, and 
 
 we are here to help that in a small way. If you were touched by John, or 
 
 merely share his love of soccer, we ask that in his name you donate to 
 
 his children's futures. We thank you in advance, and wish you God's 
 
 blessings. --The Friends of John Bieniewicz 
 
 Share now to help this campaign Share Tweet 10k total shares total shares
– Amid World Cup fever, a soccer-related tragedy out of Michigan, where a referee died this morning after being punched by a player on Sunday. The Detroit Free Press reports that responding authorities found John Bieniewicz, 44, on the ground and unconscious. Witnesses say Bieniewicz stopped the adult soccer game in Livonia in order to eject Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad, who had gotten his second violation. "The ref did nothing to provoke this attack," says one player. Another tells WDIV that Bieniewicz never saw the punch coming: "He went into his pockets to pull out his red card, he had his head down, and as he came up the guy punched him, hit him kind of in the neck and chin area and then the jaw." Saad allegedly fled the scene, but was yesterday arraigned on a felony charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder; in light of Bieniewicz's death, a rep for the county prosecutor says "the charges will be reviewed and amended when appropriate confirmations are made." A longtime friend describes the married father of two as a true lover of the sport; his qualifications allowed him to referee professional, collegiate, high school, and rec league soccer. He often worked up to three games on a weekend day, and was what the AP describes as a "well-respected" ref for two decades. A GoFundMe account has been set up to support his boys.