Slovenian official Slavko Vinčić has been appointed as the referee for the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday. He will be the first ever official from Slovenia, and the 23rd overall, to take charge of the biggest match in global football. The announcement was made by Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s head of refereeing, in a video shared on FIFA’s social media handles.
“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 Vinčić.”
Vinčić has already overseen three fixtures at this 2026 World Cup: a 1-1 group-stage draw between Brazil and Morocco, Algeria’s 2-1 win over Jordan, and Mexico’s 2-0 Round of 32 victory over Ecuador. He made headlines during the lattermost fixture at the Estadio Azteca, where he awarded his first-ever red card across major international tournaments to dismiss Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié for covering his mouth during a verbal confrontation with Mexico’s Santi Giménez, under the newly implemented ‘Prestianni rule’ for concealing potential abusive language.
The Slovenian was in tears upon hearing the news. “First of all, a shock. Then happiness,” Vinčić reacted. “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.”
The golden stripes refer to the special uniform that Vinčić will don for the final.
Spain and Argentina both have history with Vinčić
Major trophy deciders are nothing new for the seasoned Vinčić. A top-flight domestic referee since 2007 and a FIFA official since 2010, he was the man in the middle for the 2024 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, refereeing Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund. He also refereed the 2022 UEFA Europa League final, where Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers on penalties. He is one of only two Slovenians to have officiated a UCL final, after Damir Skomina in 2019 between Liverpool and Tottenham.
Vinčić also has an extensive international tournament pedigree, with 11 major games under his belt. He notably took charge of Italy’s quarterfinal win over Belgium in the 2021 European Championships and Spain’s 2-1 semi-final wins over Italy in the 2023 Nations League and France in the 2024 Euros.
He made his World Cup debut in Qatar 2022, where his very first assignment was Argentina’s infamous, shock 2-1 group-stage defeat to Saudi Arabia. In that match, though, his performance was largely uncontroversial. He awarded Argentina a fair penalty, which Lionel Messi converted, and dished out six yellow cards to Saudi Arabian players across the ninety minutes. Nonetheless, it is a bitter defeat that La Albiceleste will hope to completely exorcise this weekend. But Spain and Argentina will both be largely comfortable with the appointment.
