World Cup 2026: FIFA drops referee after arrest over sexual assault involving teenage boy.

Dutch referee Rob Dieperink has been removed from FIFA’s roster for the upcoming World Cup this summertime pursuing his apprehension successful the UK past month, though reports bespeak that the lawsuit has present been closed.

Dieperink was serving arsenic a VAR authoritative during Crystal Palace’s Conference League lucifer against Fiorentina connected April 9 and was taken into custody successful his edifice country aft the crippled connected allegations of intersexual battle involving a teenage boy.

After an investigation, Dieperink was not charged with immoderate crime, and the constabulary person dropped the lawsuit owed to insufficient evidence.

Dieperink, who asserts that helium ‘fully cooperated’ with the constabulary inquiry, was included successful FIFA’s database of VAR officials for the forthcoming World Cup, but the 38-year-old has present confirmed that helium volition not enactment successful the tournament, which commences on June 11.

In an interrogation with the Dutch work De Telegraaf, Dieperink expressed: ‘It profoundly saddens maine that I person been falsely accused.

“From the outset, I person afloat cooperated with the constabulary inves...