{"id":39198,"date":"2026-07-13T18:51:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/umpire-rob-diepelinck-38-suddenly-dies-after-being-removed-from-world-cup-squad-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T18:51:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:51:51","slug":"umpire-rob-diepelinck-38-suddenly-dies-after-being-removed-from-world-cup-squad-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/umpire-rob-diepelinck-38-suddenly-dies-after-being-removed-from-world-cup-squad-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Umpire Rob Diepelinck (38) suddenly dies after being removed from World Cup squad | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>According to reports in his home country of the Netherlands, soccer referee Rob Diepelink, who was fired by FIFA before the start of the World Cup, has died suddenly at the age of 38. Mr. Diepelinck was scheduled to travel to North America as a video assistant referee, but was removed from the list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf reported that Dieperdinck had died and that police are currently investigating his death. His cause of death is unknown. Diepelinck has been a professional referee since 2012 and served as VAR at the European Championship in Germany two years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>There is no evidence yet that his absence from the World Cup is related to the death of the official.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">After Dieperinck was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in April on suspicion of sexually assaulting an underage boy, FIFA removed him from the list of World Cup officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">Police closed the case and no charges were filed, but a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Museum of Art confirmed to The Athletic that &#8220;no further action will be taken&#8221; because &#8220;the evidentiary standard has not been met.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>At the time, Dieperinck issued a statement to De Telegraaf in response to the situation, writing: &#8220;I am deeply saddened by the unjust accusations I have been made. I have cooperated fully with the police investigation from the beginning and have immediately disclosed full information to FIFA, UEFA and the KNVB.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;The charges were refuted and the case was dismissed within two weeks following a proper and thorough investigation by police.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;I am grateful for the support I have received from the KNVB and the way they have handled this matter. It is unfortunate that FIFA has decided not to appoint me to the World Cup and I am of course disappointed in that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Dutch Royal Football Association KNVB, which employs Dieperinck, also expressed support for him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;We support a safe and honest football culture at all levels and always take reports of unwanted behavior seriously,&#8221; a spokesperson said. &#8220;While we believe that Dutch referees should behave without question, we also believe it is important that they have the opportunity to tell their story without being unfairly accused.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;In this particular incident, British police investigated and solved the case. Rob Diepelinck has cooperated fully from the beginning and has shown an open attitude to the KNVB. Based on all the information available, there is no reason not to appoint him for Dutch league matches.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2228580\/World-Cup-ref-dead-Rob-Dieperink\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to reports in his home country of the Netherlands, soccer referee Rob Diepelink, who was fired by FIFA before the start of the World Cup, has died suddenly at the age of 38. Mr. Diepelinck was scheduled to travel to North America as a video assistant referee, but was removed from the list. Dutch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Umpire Rob Diepelinck (38) suddenly dies after being removed from World Cup squad | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/umpire-rob-diepelinck-38-suddenly-dies-after-being-removed-from-world-cup-squad-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Umpire Rob Diepelinck (38) suddenly dies after being removed from World Cup squad | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to reports in his home country of the Netherlands, soccer referee Rob Diepelink, who was fired by FIFA before the start of the World Cup, has died suddenly at the age of 38. 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