India, July 14 -- The football community has been left stunned following the death of Dutch referee Rob Dieperink, who passed away at the age of 38. The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) confirmed the news, paying tribute to the highly regarded official, though the cause of his death has not been disclosed. Dieperink began officiating professional football in 2011, earned promotion to the Eredivisie in 2017, and went on to oversee 284 professional matches during his career.

His passing comes only weeks after he was removed from FIFA's officiating team for the 2026 World Cup. Dieperink had originally been selected to serve as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at the tournament before being taken off FIFA's list in May following a poli...