Who is Slavko Vincic? Meet Slovenian referee set to officiate Spain vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 final

Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić will officiate the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday, FIFA confirmed on Thursday.

Fellow Slovenians Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič will serve as assistant referees, while Adham Makhadmeh and Mohammad Al-Kalaf of Jordan have been appointed as the fourth official and reserve assistant referee, respectively.

Announcing the appointments, FIFA's Referees Committee chairman, Pierluigi Collina, congratulated Vinčić and his team.

“Playing with golden stripes is something beautiful. I am sure you agree with me. It's beautiful and it's absolutely great. As well, it's great that the referee will be Slavko Vincic,” Pierluigi Collina, FIFA's head of refereeing, said in a video that was posted on social media. Vincic, who was present with other referees during the announcement, broke down in tears of joy on hearing the news.

Who is Slavko Vincic?

Slavko Vincic was born on 25 November 1979 in Maribor, Slovenia. He has been a FIFA-listed international referee since 2010 and made his FIFA World Cup debut in Qatar in 2022, officiating two matches.

The Spain vs Argentina FIFA World Cup final on Sunday will be the sixth World Cup match he will officiate, and the fourth of this tournament.

One of the most notable moments in Vincic's officiating career came during a 2026 World Cup match between Mexico and Ecuador, wherein he handed Piero Hincapie a red card for shielding his mouth during a confrontation with Mexico's opponent, Santiago Giménez.

At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, players covering their mouths during a confrontational exchange with an opponent receive an immediate red card. This is to prevent players from making racist or abusive remarks to television cameras.

Vincic also officiated the group stage match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and Saudi Arabia in Lusail, Qatar. Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina with a 2-1 win.

Vincic awarded Argentina a controversial penalty in the eighth minute of the match, which Lionel Messi successfully converted.

That was the only match in the 2022 FIFA World Cup that Argentina lost. Vincic also issued six yellow cards to Saudi players during the match.

Vincic's experience of officiating in UEFA competitions

The 46-year-old also officiated the 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium. He was also the referee for the 2022 UEFA Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers.

Vincic also officiated Spain's 1-0 win over Italy in the group stage of Euro 2024, as well as the semi-final between Spain and France, which the La Roja won 2-1.

Vincic was overwhelmed that he was getting to officiate in a FIFA World Cup final. “First of all, a shock. Then happiness. I was shaking, so it’s an incredible honour to get to the World Cup final. It’s something that… It’s only a dream for a referee, for a young referee when they start. I’m very proud of myself and my team," he told FIFA in an interview after the announcement.

Argentina are looking to defend the World Cup title it won in 2022, whereas Spain will be hoping to clinch only their second World Cup title, after winning in 2010.

Slavko Vincic's controversial past

According to a report in the Daily Mail, Vincic had been detained in 2020 during a Bosnian police raid targeting a drug and prostitution ring at a “sex party”.

He wasn't accused of being involved directly, but was a witness in the case. He was questioned by the police before being let go.

Vincic attended what he was informed was a business lunch in Bosnia's Bijeljina, but was later arrested along with Tijana Maksimovic after being involved in the “sex party”.

Maksimovic pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced to a year in prison. The officers took nine women and 26 men into custody, and seized four cocaine packets, 10 pistols, three protective vests, and over 10,000 Euros.

The referee later told Slovenian news outlet Velcer that he had nothing to do with the incident. "I found myself on this ranch by chance. I have my own company. I was in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a business meeting," he said.

"I accepted an invitation to lunch, which turned out to be my biggest mistake. I regret it. I was sitting at a table with my company, all of a sudden the police came and what happened, happened," he recalled.

"I have nothing to do with the group that was arrested and detained, nor do my business partners. Yes, they really took us to the police, asked [us] as witnesses, when it turned out that we didn't even know them, we were able to go," he explained.