Dutch referee Rob Dieperink found dead after being dropped from FIFA World Cup

AMSTERDAM: Dutch referee Rob Dieperink (38), who was removed from the referees' panel for the FIFA World Cup, was found dead on Tuesday. Rob Dieperink was removed from the referees' panel with a month to go before the tournament due to allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. The case was later dropped due to a lack of evidence, but he was not included in the panel. Dieperink had been serving as a referee in the Eredivisie, the leading football league in the Netherlands, since 2017. He was a VAR referee at the 2024 Euro Cup.

Earlier, Dieperink told a television channel about his disappointment after being dropped from the FIFA World Cup panel despite cooperating with the investigation. The Netherlands' football association, the KNVB, expressed shock at the death of their nation’s leading referee.

Meanwhile, more details are awaited to ascertain the exact cause that led to the death.