Dutch football referee Rob Dieperink has died at 38, weeks after being dropped from officiating at the World Cup following a police investigation in the UK. Dieperink had been selected as a video assistant referee (VAR) for the tournament but was removed from Fifa's list in May.

The Metropolitan Police arrested Dieperink in April following a report of sexual assault against a teenage boy, but the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence. The Netherlands' football association, the KNVB, said they were "shocked and deeply saddened" by his death, calling him a "highly valued referee" and "kind and dedicated colleague."

Dieperink had refereed in the Eredivisie since 2017 and served as a VAR official at Euro 2024. After his World Cup removal, he told De Telegraaf he had been "wrongly accused" and had fully cooperated with authorities. He was the VAR for Crystal Palace's 3-0 Europa Conference League quarter-final win over Fiorentina on 9 April. Police concluded the evidential threshold was not met and took no further action.