AN American soccer referee has been declared dead after he was allegedly punched by a player in an amateur adult soccer match in Michigan.

John Bieniewicz, 44, of Westland, Michigan, was unconscious and lying on the ground when police arrived, after he was allegedly punched in the head by a player who he’d just issued with a red card. He never regained consciousness.

US agencies are reporting that Bassel Abdul-Amir Saad, 36, of Dearborn, Mich, was charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm.

Scott Herkes, a 39-year-old player in the match, said he was about 25 metres away from the action when he saw Bieniewicz punched by a player on the opposing team. He said the referee was looking down at the time and didn’t see the punch coming.

“It was terrifying,” Mr Herkes told US media. “I have never in my life seen something like this”.

Mr Herkes went on to say that Saad had been complaining about a call made by the referee prior to his alleged assault. There were reportedly around 30 players at the game and a handful of spectators, many of whom also witnessed the event.

Mr Bieniewicz worked as a medical assistant at a children’s hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a small city near Detroit.

“I speak for all his friends when I say we are devastated. Crushed. Just a senseless way for a great guy to go out,” James Acho, Bieniewicz’s friend of 30 years, told the Detroit Free Press. “He deserved better.”

“He just absolutely lived it and loved [soccer],” Mr Acho added.

Mr Acho said Bieniewicz is being kept on a ventilator until his organs can be harvested and donated through an organisation called Gift of Life. He will leave behind a wife and two young sons.

Mr Saad is alleged to have fled the field after the incident and driven away. His attorney, Brian Berry, said his client cooperated with the police investigation and voluntarily turned himself in.

“Mr. Saad is presumed innocent unless and until a fact finder determines differently,” his legal team said in an email to the Detroit Free Press. “As tragic as this event is, we must keep open minds and listen and wait for all the facts of this case to unfold.”