Soccer ref's widow files $51 million lawsuit against player who killed husband

Lawsuit also names soccer league

DETROIT – The widow of a Detroit-area soccer referee filed a $51 million lawsuit Friday against Bassel Saad, the man who is in prison for throwing the punch that killed her husband during a game last summer.

The figure represents $1 million for each of the 51 additional years that John Bieniewicz, 44, could have lived, according to the lawsuit in Wayne County Court.

Cited by his doctor, the lawsuit described Bieniewicz, who had two children, as extremely healthy with the potential to live to age 95.

Kristen Bieniewicz, of Westland, who is the representative of her husband's estate, is suing Saad and another man who controlled the team and the Michigan United Soccer League.

The lawsuit accuses the soccer league of allowing Saad to play despite his reputation as a violent player.

Saad, 37, was recently sentenced to at least eight years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.