Danny Makkelie has been selected to referee at this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the KNVB has confirmed. Rob Dieperink and Dennis Higler will join him as Video Assistant Referees (VARs).
As usual, he will be assisted by Hessel Steegstra and Jan de Vries, just as they were in Qatar in 2022. Makkelie also travelled to the 2018 World Cup, though in that tournament he served solely as a VAR.
“It’s fantastic that we’ve been selected for the World Cup,” said the 43-year-old official. “A global final tournament is the very pinnacle of what you can achieve. To be able to referee there again is a tremendous honour.”
“We’ve worked incredibly hard over the past four years, and we’ll keep pushing. First, we want to finish the season strongly; only then will the World Cup follow.”
Raymond van Meenen, manager of professional refereeing at the KNVB, said, “We are immensely proud that Danny and his team have been chosen for a World Cup for the second time, especially in such strong international competition.”
“Danny has been among the national and international elite for years and has extensive experience in officiating matches at the highest level. We have a long tradition when it comes to Dutch referees at major tournaments. That is a huge boost for the entire Dutch refereeing community and particularly for our younger referees. We look forward to seeing Team Makkelie in action at the World Cup,” said Van Meenen.
In total, twelve Dutch referees have now officiated at a World Cup, among them Mario van der Ende (1994 and 1998), Jan Wegereef (2002) and Björn Kuipers (2014 and 2018).