Dutch referee Rob Dieperink died aged 38, only weeks after he was removed from Fifa’s World Cup officials list following a police investigation in the UK. In his response to the decision, he said he had been wrongly accused, that he had fully cooperated, and that he was disappointed not to be appointed for the tournament.
Dieperink's response after the removal
“It saddens me greatly that I have been wrongly accused,” Dieperink told bbc.co.uk. “From the beginning, I have fully cooperated in the police investigation and also immediately gave full openness to Fifa, Uefa and the KNVB.” He added that he was grateful for the support he received from the KNVB and said it was a pity that Fifa had decided not to appoint him for the World Cup any more.
His death gives that statement a painful weight. The football detail is still part of the story, though, because Dieperink was the VAR for Crystal Palace's 3-0 Europa Conference League quarter-final first-leg win over Fiorentina on 9 April. Palace finished that group stage with 10 points from 6 games, while Fiorentina finished on 9 points from 6.
The investigation and the World Cup list
The chronology is stark enough on its own. Dieperink had been selected as a VAR official for the tournament, then removed from Fifa’s World Cup officials list in May. The Metropolitan Police said officers had responded to a report of a sexual assault against a teenage boy on 9 April, arrested a man in his 30s, and later reviewed CCTV and digital devices before concluding that the evidential threshold had not been met and that no further action would be taken.
That leaves the human side of this story ahead of the football side. KNVB called Dieperink “a highly valued referee” and “a kind and dedicated colleague” after his death, and that is the clearest way to read what has been lost here. He was part of the Eredivisie refereeing group since 2017 and had also worked as a VAR official at Euro 2024, but the World Cup removal now sits alongside news of his death aged 38.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →