Wasar Ahmed, 23, launched a foul-mouthed racist tirade against Ian Fraser after he gave him a red card warning the official: 'I’m going to break every white bone in your white face.'
As the other players and spectators looked on, angry Ahmed was escorted off the field shouting: 'I’m going to burn your white house down and kill your wife and kids - I know where you live.
I’m going to come and find your house.'
After the game finished, Ahmed stood near to Mr Fraser’s car and stared at him as he got in.
He was arrested soon after when the referee, who has 30 years' experience in officiating at matches, went to a police station and made a formal complaint to officers and the East Lancashire Football League.
Mr Fraser, 48, told police he had 'never known anything like it before, felt intimidated and was left extremely shocked.'
He said he feared further trouble because of the threats.
At Burnley Crown Court, jobless Ahmed, from Burnley, admitted causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and was jailed for eight weeks after a judge said referees were entitled to protection from badly behaved footballers.
After the case Mr Fraser, a father-of-two, of Barrowford, Lancashire, said: 'I think this sentence has to be a deterrent to other sports people who abuse match referees and then assume they can get away with it.
'I am very thick-skinned but there was no way anyone could tolerate this - especially when someone launched into the threats he made against me and my family.
Not standing for it: Referee Ian Fraser went straight to the police and reported Wasar Ahmed
'Someone having a verbal attack at me is normally off the cuff but this went on for so long and it was coming from a young lad who was vile in what he was saying. I just can’t believe he would go to such length all for a game of football.
'I have been refereeing since I was 16 and I’ve played an awful lot of football but I’ve never heard anything as bad as what he was saying.
'Referees should be respected but if people see the Premier League players swearing at referees then it cascades down to matches at amateur level likes ours.'
The incident took place last December when Mr Fraser was referring a match between Daneshouse FC and Prairie Utd.
Striker Ahmed, who played for Daneshouse, became angry when he felt Mr Fraser should have acted over a throw-in during the match.
The referee, who was being paid £22 to referee the match, asked him for his name.
But Ahmed refused and swore again instead calling him 'mother f**ker' and telling him to 'f**k off.'
Mr Fraser, a sales manager, added: 'It was vile what was coming out of his mouth, heat of the moment stuff.
'You are meant to respect a referee and in any other sport like rugby or cricket, where referees have to be respected it happens.
'But it doesn’t seem to be the case in football and that day I wasn’t being respected especially if he was making threats to kill.
'This behaviour should not be accepted and should be stamped out from a higher level.'
Not standing for it: Referee Ian Fraser went straight to the police and reported Wasar Ahmed
In court Miss Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, said Mr Fraser had to get Ahmed’s name from his team manager, after refusing to re-start the match until he was given it.
She said Ahmed remained on the edge of the pitch and threatened Mr Fraser who said the game would not start again until the player was removed.
Ahmed later said he could not remember exactly what he said but admitted he had lost his temper.
It was also revealed he was in breach of a 32 weeks suspended prison term for assault.
Defence lawyer Richard Taylor said: 'The defendant doesn’t dispute that he lost it. He was upset and frustrated and says he had let his team mates down. He was very sorry and he regretted that.
'He accepts that his behaviour was very poor - but I do believe he’s learned his lesson.'
Judge Graham Knowles QC told Ahmed: 'This was a quite outrageous, deeply offensive profoundly unpleasant attack on a man who was just doing his best as a referee.
He and others are entitled to protection.
'This incident went on for 20 minutes or so and you had opportunities to calm down and at the very least not make things worse - but you made it worse.'
Ken Inkle, chairman of the East Lancashire Football League, added: 'I can’t remember any incident like this ever taking place on the pitch in our league. Daneshouse FC have now withdrawn from the league, which was probably for the best.'
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