Overview
- The KNVB confirmed Dieperink's death and local police said their search at his address is finished while withholding the cause of death for privacy reasons.
- FIFA and the Dutch football association issued statements expressing shock and offering condolences to his family and colleagues.
- Dieperink rose through the Dutch ranks from 2012 and became an Eredivisie referee in 2017, serving as a VAR at Euro 2024 and the 2024 Olympics and officiating 284 professional matches.
- In April he was arrested in London on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenage boy, the case was later dropped for lack of evidence, and FIFA removed him from its list for the 2026 World Cup while the KNVB temporarily sidelined him.
- He had recently begun a planned return to refereeing by officiating a Go Ahead Eagles friendly, and his death will leave questions about how football bodies handle allegations involving officials and the support offered to them.