New Delhi: Dutch football referee Rob Dieperink, who was removed from FIFA’s refereeing panel a month before the FIFA World Cup began on June 11, has passed away under mysterious circumstances.
According to preliminary reports, the exact cause of his death has not yet been disclosed. Dieperink had been removed from FIFA’s World Cup refereeing panel while he was under police investigation in England.
However, in a tragic twist, the police case against Rob was later dropped due to a lack of evidence after FIFA had already decided to exclude him from the World Cup panel.
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The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) issued a statement expressing deep sorrow over his sudden demise, saying that Dutch football had suffered a significant loss with the passing of one of its distinguished referees. FIFA also expressed its condolences following Dieperink’s death.
In April, British police had registered a case against Rob after allegations surfaced that he had sexually assaulted a teenage boy. However, the investigation was later closed because of insufficient evidence. In a subsequent interview, Rob maintained his innocence, saying, “A Dutch daily newspaper made false allegations against me.”
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