Tragic news has emerged from the world of football, as Dutch referee Rob Dieperink has reportedly been found dead after being removed from the 2026 FIFA World Cup's officiating team. Dieperink was supposed to be a part of the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) team at the 2026 World Cup but was dropped one month before the start of the tournament over allegations of 'sexual assault' involving a minor. Though the case was later closed due to insufficient evidence, it has now been revealed that the referee has died.
Dieperink died at the age of 38, though the cause of his death has not yet been made public. The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) confirmed the news in a statement, paying tribute to Dieperink, who was one of the country's most respected officials.
"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of Rob Dieperink. With Rob, we lose a highly valued referee, but above all, a kind and dedicated colleague," the KNVB said.
FIFA, the sport's global governing body, also released a statement, offering its condolences on the Dutchman's death.
"On behalf of the entire football community, we extend our sincerest condolences to his family and friends and the Dutch Football Association. May he rest in peace," the statement from FIFA read.
Dieperink had been officiating in the Netherlands' top-flight, Eredivisie, since 2017 and was also one of the VAR officials during the European Championships in 2024. He was named in the FIFA World Cup 2026 roster as a video assistant referee, according to the BBC, but was later removed.
He was arrested by London's Metropolitan Police over allegations of sexually assaulting an underage boy, a controversy that led to him missing out on the World Cup.
"It saddens me greatly that I have been wrongly accused," Dieperink had told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf after the allegations were made.
"From the beginning, I have fully cooperated with the police investigation and also immediately gave full openness to FIFA, UEFA and the KNVB," Dieperink had said.
He was reportedly quite disappointed to have been left out of FIFA's VAR team for the 2026 World Cup.
Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk throws a flurry of punches at Netherlands' Rico Verhoeven forcing the referee to stop the bout. AFP
Ukraine's unbeaten heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk stopped Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven with one second left in the penultimate round of a WBC title fight on Saturday after an unexpectedly difficult night's work.
The 'Glory in Giza' fight at the Pyramids of Egypt was considered a mismatch, but Verhoeven, whose sole previous professional boxing fight was 12 years ago, tore up the script from the opening bell.
It took until the fourth for Usyk to have a round that was clearly his, but the champion was unable to capitalise on it with the bigger and heavier Verhoeven still taking the fight to him.
With Usyk tipping the scales heavier than ever before, and looking strangely lethargic, the 39-year-old Ukrainian went into the penultimate round needing to pull something out of the bag to be certain of a win most had taken for granted.
Scorecards published by The Ring magazine afterwards showed two of the three judges had the fight tied 95-95 going into the 11th and the other had Verhoeven ahead 96-94.
'It was an early stoppage'
The decisive moment came right at the end, with Usyk dropping Verhoeven with a right uppercut and the Dutchman beating the 10 count but not the referee, who stepped in to wave off further punishment.
“I thought it was an early stoppage, but in the end it's not up to me,” Verhoeven, 37, told Dazn. “The referee knows that we are almost at the end of the round, so or let me go out on my shield or let the bell go.
“But you know … I was already super thankful for the opportunity as well,” he added, pitching for a rematch.
Verhoeven was fighting only for the WBC belt, with Usyk risking also the loss of his WBA and IBF ones, which would have been declared vacant titles had he been beaten. In the end, he extended his record to 25 unbeaten fights and retained all three titles.
“This fight was hard. It was a good fight. I was just boxing, my right uppercut, bang. Bang, bang, bang. Thank you, God,” said Usyk.
“Right now, in Ukraine, my people and my country – there is bombing. My people are sitting in bomb shelters. My family. My daughter sent me a message: ‘Papa, I love you, you win. I’m afraid'. I said, 'Oh my God'.”
Verhoeven did his ring walk in the open-air arena as a pharaoh, flanked by others holding flaming torches with the Pyramids illuminated behind them.
Usyk adopted a more gladiatorial look, wearing a golden helmet and the outfit of a Roman centurion, as an array of fireworks lit up the night sky. But the fight was one of his toughest, and he struggled to deal with an awkward opponent who hit hard and showed few signs of crumbling.
First signs of slippage or an off night?
It begs the question, is this the start of a decline or just a poor performance in strange circumstances? Usyk is not getting any younger but looked incredible when flattening Daniel Dubois in five rounds last July, so more evidence is required to categorically say he is on the slide.
Inactivity is certainly not helping him. He flirted with hiring new promoters and campaigning in the US before making another deal with Turki Alalshikh and Saudi Arabia in nearly a full year away from the ring.
Then there is the weight. Usyk was slower on his feet having come in at a career heaviest to deal with the giant Verhoeven. Usyk came up from cruiserweight and has always been at his best when able to use his elite footwork to its maximum.
Verhoeven did his ring walk in the open-air arena as a pharaoh, flanked by others holding flaming torches with the Pyramids illuminated behind them.
Usyk adopted a more gladiatorial look, wearing a golden helmet and the outfit of a Roman centurion, as an array of fireworks lit up the night sky. But the fight was one of his toughest, and he struggled to deal with an awkward opponent who hit hard and showed few signs of crumbling.
First signs of slippage or an off night?
It begs the question, is this the start of a decline or just a poor performance in strange circumstances? Usyk is not getting any younger but looked incredible when flattening Daniel Dubois in five rounds last July, so more evidence is required to categorically say he is on the slide.
Inactivity is certainly not helping him. He flirted with hiring new promoters and campaigning in the US before making another deal with Turki Alalshikh and Saudi Arabia in nearly a full year away from the ring.
Then there is the weight. Usyk was slower on his feet having come in at a career heaviest to deal with the giant Verhoeven. Usyk came up from cruiserweight and has always been at his best when able to use his elite footwork to its maximum.
General view of the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza. Reuters
Also, we've seen before that these gimmick fights can be banana skins. Usyk would not have known what to expect from Verhoeven nor would he have perceived much of a threat, so suddenly when the fight is tougher than expected, it is hard to adjust.
Another factor was that Daniel Lapin, the younger brother of Usyk's best friend Sergey and training partner, was knocked out by Benjamin Mendes Tani in a big upset right before Usyk was due to the box.
But, while far from his best, Usyk still got the stoppage, and again showed his ability to come on strong late in fights. The Ukranian is often a slow starter who builds momentum. As for the stoppage? Early, yes, and also unnecessary right on the bell. That said, Verhoeven was in big trouble after the uppercut and had already spat out his gumshield to buy time. He might have struggled to see out the 12th but did deserve the opportunity to try.
Usyk would do well to avoid another long bout of inactivity and get back to boxing his heavyweight rivals.
Kabayel next in Istanbul or Germany
After his win, Usyk was confronted by the German-Kurdish fighter Agit Kabayel, the WBC's number one contender, and a man who has been waiting an age for a shot at the title.
Despite Verhoeven's calls for a rematch, it is very likely we see Usyk-Kabayel next. The Dutchman's overperformance on one night should not see him jump the queue ahead of Kabayel whose 15-year career has led him to this point.
Alalshikh, who orchestrated Saturday's event at the Pyramids has previously staged a card in Times Square, and suggested last week they could do the fight in front of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. “Better a stadium in Germany,” was Kabayel's response.
As for Verhoeven, this might have been his best chance to do something spectacular in boxing. We saw MMA star Francis Ngannou give Tyson Fury fits on his boxing debut before being obliterated by Anthony Joshua next time out. Verhoeven plans to box again, and this showing should earn him another decent opportunity.
The Dutch team lift the temperatures in the war of words, fighting back after Tadej Pogačar criticised their stage 6 tactics.
The Tour de France is hotting up in every way. Not only are the riders set to endure 30º temperatures for today’s race to Mûr de Bretagne, with red hot racing almost guaranteed, but the war of words is becoming too hot to handle as well.
This morning Visma | Lease a Bike’s head of sport Grischa Niermann responded to Tadej Pogačar’s criticism of their tactics, telling the gathered press, “It’s a good thing he doesn’t get it. We followed our own strategy and did exactly what we set out to do. Period.”
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had been well up the road in a breakaway during Thursday’s stage, and it was expected the Dutchman would reclaim the race leader’s yellow jersey. However, that was threatened when Visma | Lease a Bike upped the pace in the closing kilometres. In the end Van der Poel took yellow by a single second, relegating Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to second place, albeit probably temporarily.
Afterwards Pogačar questioned the Dutch team’s tactics, saying they were rubbish and suggesting they wanted to keep him yellow.
This morning Niermann fought back.
“Did we want him in yellow? Absolutely not. I think UAE rode until six kilometres from the finial and they set the lead, so they also decided to keep Pogačar in yellow. What doo I think of the criticism? I think it’s a compliment that he’s interfering with us. We look at ourselves, determine out own tactics and we don’t interfere,” the German concluded.
Visma’s leader, Jonas Vingegaard is seen as the only real challenger to Pogačar’s crown but the Dane lost time on Wednesday’s time trial, losing well over a minute to the Slovenian, and he now sits fifth overall, 1.13 behind his rival.
Friday’s stage to 197km Mûr de Bretagne takes in two ascents of the fabled climb and is likely to see more aggressive, entertaining racing. And maybe some interesting tactics.
At least 5 people were hospitalized and more than 20 injured on the night that saw more than 60 arrests in what Dutch authorities described as "unacceptable" anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli soccer fans following a Europa League match in Amsterdam. 10 of the arrested were Israeli nationals and most either received fines or had a case dismissed. Photo Provided by Jeroen Jumelet/EPA-EFE
A Dutch court on Tuesday found five people guilty on a series of charges stemming violent clash after a match between an Israeli and Dutch soccer team in November.
The court in the Netherlands sentenced five men for their role in violent activities that took place after a soccer game in Amsterdam between the native Ajax team and the visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Johan Cruijff Arena during a Thursday night on Nov. 7, which sparked international condemnation.
Three were found guilty of committing violence and the other two guilty of aiding and abetting violence. One of the defendants also was found guilty of making an offensive remark against Jewish people.
At least five people were hospitalized and more than 20 injured on the night that saw more than 60 arrests in what Dutch authorities described as "unacceptable" anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli soccer fans following a UEFA Europa League match in Amsterdam. Of the arrested, 10 were Israeli nationals and most either received fines or had a case dismissed.
Hundreds of Israeli Maccabi supporters were "ambushed and brutally attacked," the Israel Foreign Ministry previously claimed. "Mobs chanted anti-Israel slogans and proudly shared videos of their violent acts on social media -- kicking, beating, even running over Israeli citizens," the ministry stated.
The five unidentified men Tuesday represented the first to be tried and sentenced in connection with the riots.
About 45 people were issued fines for minor offenses, however, more arrests could follow with 100 others still under investigation.
Officials said roughly 800 police officers were deployed to the streets in reinforcements from across the small west European nation.
It was reported the chief prosecutor did not charge the men for terrorist acts because the court believed it was not their intent to instill fear but operated from a place of "anger, frustration and sadness" over Israel's alleged war crimes in Gaza.
A demonstration was planned at the Johan Cruijff Arena but was banned and deemed a security risk by the municipality.
Footage circulated online appeared to show Maccabi Tel Aviv fans shouting racist chants about Arabs and Palestinians and tearing a Palestinian flag from a building.
A WhatsApp group called "Community Center II" with around 900 members was used to communicate information about "those Jews" and where they could be found. Two 26-year-olds were individually sentenced to prison one for a month and the other for 10 weeks after being found guilty of aiding and abetting the riots via the app. One called for violence saying he would not get the same chance.
A number of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been involved in past racist incidents in Israel including verbally abusing Palestinian and Arab players in the side, trying to get the owners to fire them, and for attacking demonstrators opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the BBC reported.
The violence stemmed from "a toxic combination of anti-semitism, hooliganism, and anger about the conflicts in Palestine and Israel, and other countries in the Middle East," Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema wrote in a 12-page letter days after the riots.
According to the court, a 32-year-old will spend six months in prison for allegedly committing multiple acts of violence including beating several victims already on the ground and fly-kicking another person into a moving tram.
Meanwhile, after attacking Maccabi soccer team supporters with a group of other men, a 24-year-old was slapped with a one-month prison term for also kicking a person a number of times while they were on the ground and for stealing a scarf.
And a 19-year-old got 100 hours of community service under juvenile law. He took part in violent WhatsApp chats and allegedly carried out violent acts before the game, and was found to of likewise been violent with a police officer during pre-gram demonstrations, according to officials.
"We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again," King Willem-Alexander told Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a phone call the day after the riot. He said it was reminiscent of "dark and grim times for the Jewish people."
Netherlands' Cody Gakpo scored his third goal of the European Championship and substitute Donyell Malen added two more late on to defeat Romania 3-0 in their last-16 fixture as the Dutch burst back into form with a lively display on Tuesday.
They had been lambasted by their media and fans for a poor defensive display in their final group game, a 3-2 loss to Austria, but were more composed and in control as they reach the Euro quarter-finals for the first time since 2008.
The Dutch started slowly at the Munich Football Arena as underdogs Romania -- roared on by their yellow-clad supporters -- controlled the ball for the first quarter of an hour before the Netherlands slowly started to get a grip on the match.
They broke the deadlock after 20 minutes when player of the match Gakpo fired low past Florin Nita at the keeper's near post before Malen's late double clinched a quarter-final with Austria or Turkey, who play later on Tuesday, in Berlin on Saturday.
"This was the answer we had to our last performance - good game, good goals, we played good football," Gakpo said.
"Of course we could do better but a good showing after the last game. A good step in that next direction. We felt we were in control even though they were a dangerous opponent."
Reuters
Gakpo was a menace all night and turned provider for Malen's first goal in the 83rd minute when he kept the ball in play on the touchline and knocked it across the box for an easy tap in.
Malen, who is the first Netherlands player to score in a Euro knockout match as a substitute, notched his second in stoppage time when he collected the ball in midfield, dribbled into the penalty area and fired past Nita as the Dutch served notice that they have started to click at the tournament.
Romania, who were forced into a first half substitution when Bogdan Racovitan came on in defence for Vasile Mogos after a collision, created few chances and never looked a serious threat as the Dutch controlled possession and waited to get forward.
Romania manager Edward Iordanescu had said his side, who topped Group E with four points, would need a near perfect performance but his players lacked the crispness and counter-attacking threat they displayed earlier in the tournament.
"We played well the first 15 to 20 minutes then their first goal came and it destabilised us to some extent," Romania defender Andrei Burca said. "We are disappointed, we wanted a lot from this match."
The Netherlands had two thirds of possession and almost five times more chances with 24 attempts in the game to underline their superiority as Virgil van Dijk struck the post with a header and Gakpo had a second effort ruled out for offside.
Dutch Olympic officials are keeping home two male and one female players from the golf competition in Paris because they believe their world ranking is too low for them to have a realistic chance against 60-player fields.
The Netherlands Golf Federation said Tuesday it presented “extensive arguments and data” in a June 14 meeting with the Dutch committee that oversees the Olympics, hopeful of showing unique differences in golf compared with other sports.
“According to them, it has not been demonstrated that there is a reasonable chance of a top-eight ranking during the Olympic Games,” the NGF said in a statement.
The decision means Joost Luiten and Darius Van Driel will not be going to Paris. It's the second straight Olympics that Dutch officials have kept golfers home for not being ranked among the top 100 in the world.
Most telling about the Dutch decision is what happened at the Tokyo Olympics. Rory Sabbatini qualified at No. 161 in the world and shot 61 in the final round to win the silver medal in a historic day for Slovakian golf.
C.T. Pan of Taiwan won a seven-man playoff — which included Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa — to win the bronze. Pan qualified at No. 181 in the world.
Olympic qualifying is based on the Official World Golf Ranking. Countries are allowed two players — four if all are among the top 15 — until the 60-player field is filled.
For the Tokyo Games, the Netherlands had set a standard of players being among the top 100 in the world or the top 36 in the Olympic ranking for them to compete. Luiten was No. 177 and Wil Besseling was No. 221 when qualifying ended.
This year, Luiten was No. 40 in the Olympic ranking, with a world ranking of No. 147.
Anne Van Dam, who is No. 108 in the women's world ranking and No. 34 in the Olympic ranking, will be the only Dutch golfer. The Netherlands Olympic Committee will not be sending Dewi Weber, who is No. 302 in the world.
The 38-year-old Luiten is a six-time winner on the European tour who has qualified for 21 majors — including the Masters twice — and last year tied for 71st in the British Open.
The absence of Dutch golfers mean the male players will be replaced by Joel Girrbach of Switzerland (No. 366 in the world) and Tapio Pulkkanen of Finland (No. 378) from the reallocation reserve list.
Besseling, in an interview two summers ago at the U.S. Open where he tied for 56th at The Country Club, had hoped Dutch officials would change the criteria. He said it was a “stupid rule to make.”
The International Golf Federation sent a detailed letter in support of the Dutch golfers for the June 14 meeting, trying to explain that margins are so thin in golf that players well outside the top 100 can win on any given week.
“It is common for lower-ranked players to make a significant impact in major tournaments, defying their current standings,” the IGF letter said. “There are numerous examples of players who are lower ranked on OWGR who perform well in big events.”
Seven players ranked outside the top 100 in the world have won PGA Tour events that offered full FedEx Cup points this year. That list includes Nick Dunlap, who was an amateur still in college when he won The American Express against a field that included Scottie Scheffler.
The Dutch committee — formally the Netherlands Olympic Committee/Netherlands Sports Federation — tweaked its criteria for sending golfers to the 2024 Olympics.
For men, anyone finishing outside the top 27 in the Olympic ranking would have to record a top-eight finish in a tournament — provided that tournament had five players from the top 50 in the world or 10 from the top 100. Anything less would require a top-four finish.
The European tour, where Luiten and Van Driel plays, rarely gets that many from the top 100 in a world ranking that has been more heavily skewed toward the PGA Tour in the last year.
Luiten has five top-20 finishes this year, including a tie for 14th in the Dubai Invitational, where Tommy Fleetwood defeated McIlroy by one shot.
Van Driel won the Magical Kenya Open in February for his first European tour win. That tournament had only two players from the top 100.
Formula One statistics for Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, the 13th race of the 22-round season.
Lap distance: 4.259km. Total distance: 306.587km (72 laps)
2022 pole position: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull one minute 10.342 seconds.
2022 race winner: Verstappen
Race lap record: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:11.097, 2021
Start time: 1300GMT (1500 local)
NETHERLANDS
The race returned to the calendar in 2021 for the first time since 1985.
Verstappen won in 2021 and 2022, both times from pole position, making him the only current driver on the grid to have won the Dutch Grand Prix.
Zandvoort opened in 1948 in the coastal sand dunes and is often described as "old school" -- a quick and flowing circuit with high-speed changes of direction and much of the lap spent cornering.
Netherlands forward Lineth Beerensteyn pulled no punches about the absent United States squad at the Women's World Cup on Thursday, saying the two-times reigning champions should have done their talking on the pitch.
The Dutch drew 1-1 with the U.S. to finish ahead of them atop Group E. The Americans were then eliminated by Sweden in the last-16, the first time in history they had gone out before the tournament semi-finals.
Dutch teenager Dilano van't Hoff died in an accident during a wet Formula Regional European Championship race at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Saturday, his team said.
The 18-year-old, who won the 2021 Spanish F4 championship, was racing for the Dutch MP Motorsport outfit at the Belgian Grand Prix circuit.
Kocha wa zamani ya Uholanzi, Guus Hiddink, yuko tayari kuingia Chelsea muda si mrefu...Hiddink yuko kwenye mazungumzo na uongozi wa Chelsea na muda wowote wanaweeza kumtangaza kwenye vyombo vya habari...Hiddink amewahi kuwa boss wa Chelsea mwaka 2009 walivyo shinda FA Cup...Hiddink ana rekodi nzuri ya ukocha, kwa mfano, akiwa na PSV Eindhoven alishinda kombe la Dutch mara 6 na European Cup...Bofya hapa upate habari zaidi.
