The final of World Cup 2026 between Argentina and Spain you already know the referee who will be in charge of the match that will define the title this Sunday in New Jersey/New York, from 4:00 p.m. Argentine time. It is Slovenian Slavko Vincicwho already led the National Team in the defeat against Saudi Arabia in the match that began Scaloneta’s path to the title in the Qatar World Cup 2022.
Vincic He is burdened with an episode that marked his career: in May 2020 he was arrested by the police of Bosnia and Herzegovina during a raid against a prostitution ring, drug trafficking and illegal weapons, and released that same night without charges after being questioned as a witness.
Vincic, born on November 25, 1979 in Maribor, Sloveniais an international referee of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) since 2010. He debuted in the Slovenian first division in 2007 and rose through the ranks to become one of the elite referees in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). In his almost two decades of career he accumulated more than 113 international matches in 39 competitions, with 316 yellow cards and 9 red cards, according to WorldReferee records.
The designation for the final of the Champions League 2024 It was the highest point of his career. UEFA confirmed him in May of that year to referee the June 1 match in Londonwith his compatriots Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic as assistants, and the Frenchman François Letexier as the fourth official. Vinčić thus became the second Slovenian referee to officiate a Champions League final.after Damir Skomina, who officiated the 2019 final between Liverpool and Tottenham. “When I received the news, it was a very emotional moment. If I’m honest, when I started refereeing I wasn’t sure that my dreams would go as far as a Champions League final,” Vincic told UEFA.com days before the match.
The match at Wembley was the first time that Vincic refereed a match in the real Madrid in European competition, despite having directed 14 continental matches with Spanish clubs. He had already had Borussia Dortmund under his command in the second leg of the quarterfinals of that same edition, when the Germans defeated the Chelsea by 4-2.
The episode of Bosnia In 2020 he put that entire trajectory at risk. On May 29 of that year, Vincic was in a cabin in the city of Bijeljina when the police burst into the scene. The authorities detained 26 men and 9 women, and seized 14 packages of cocaine, 10 firearms, three bulletproof vests and more than 10,000 euros in cash. Among those arrested was Tijana Maksimovicalleged leader of the network, who later pleaded guilty to the crime of international pimping, as reported .
The arbitrator denied any link to illegal activities. “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, suddenly the police came and what happened happened”Vincic declared to the Slovenian media . He added that he did not know any of the people arrested and that the police treated him as a witness from the beginning. That same night he returned to Slovenia.
The Slovenian Football Federation backed its referee and closed the case immediately. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time”said the agency, which did not open any disciplinary proceedings. The Bosnian justice system also did not bring charges against Vinčić. Less than a year after the incident, the referee was already officiating the semifinal of the Europa League between Arsenal and Villarreal, and then the final of that same competition in 2022, when Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers in Seville in a penalty shootout.
His presence in highly demanding tournaments remained constant. Vincic refereed in the Euro 2020where he officiated three matches, including the quarterfinal duel between Italy and Belgium. In it Qatar World Cup 2022 He was in charge of two matches, including the historic match in which Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina in the group stage. In it World Cup 2026 He accumulated three more matches before his name was heard again strongly in the days before the final between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey.
Source: Infobae
