Who is Slavko Vinčić, the Slovenian referee set to officiate the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain?

Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić has been appointed to officiate the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. in New York. Vinčić, 46, is a highly regarded official by both UEFA and FIFA.

Born in Maribor, Slovenia, Vinčić began his international refereeing career in 2010. He has since officiated numerous key matches in major European and global competitions. His recent assignments include significant Champions League fixtures, such as Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over Benfica in the playoffs and Paris Saint-Germain's 3-0 win against Chelsea in the round of 16. He also refereed Bayern Munich's dramatic 4-3 victory over Real Madrid in the quarterfinals and Sweden's 3-2 win over Poland, which secured their World Cup qualification.

Vinčić's World Cup history includes five matches. Notably, he refereed Argentina's opening match in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, a surprising 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia, where he correctly disallowed two goals for offside. He also officiated England's 3-0 group stage win against Wales in Qatar. In the current tournament, he oversaw Brazil's 1-1 draw with Morocco, Algeria's 2-1 victory over Jordan, and Mexico's 2-0 win against Ecuador in the round of 16.

Vinčić's career faced a significant challenge in 2020 when he was detained as part of a major police operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The circumstances surrounding his involvement were serious enough to potentially jeopardize his career, though details of the resolution were not provided in the source material.