Dutch referee Rob Dieperink has died, according to reports. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
Dieperink was arrested in his London hotel room on April 9 after being on VAR duty for Crystal Palace's UEFA Conference League game against Fiorentina, on suspicion of sexual assault on a teenage boy. However, following an investigation, he was not charged with any offense and the case was dropped by police due to a lack of evidence.
Dieperink had been on FIFA's list of VAR officials for this summer's World Cup in North America, but had been stood down just a month before the tournament began. In an interview, Dieperink said he was "wrongly accused" and had cooperated fully with the police investigation and provided transparency to FIFA, UEFA, and the KNVB.
Dieperink had officiated in the Eredivisie since 2017 and was on VAR duty at Euro 2024. He had also refereed the 2024 Europa League final. Just two days ago, he refereed a pre-season friendly between Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles and Cypriot side Apollon.
