Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic appointed to officiate 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina

The 46-year-old is the first person from Slovenia to take charge of the world's biggest football fixture. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

By George Edwards and Graham Scott

July 18, 2026 11:45 pm EDT | Updated

Slovenian official Slavko Vincic is the referee for Sunday's FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium.

The 46-year-old from Maribor — who took charge of the 2024 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund — is the first person from his country to take charge of the world's biggest football fixture.

He will be assisted by Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic, both also from Slovenia, while German Bastian Dankert will be the VAR. He will be assisted by Nicolas Gallo from Colombia.

Vincic was in tears when he was given the news of his appointment at FIFA's referee team base in Miami on Thursday.

"So, first of all, a shock. Then happiness. I was shaking, so it's an incredible honour to get the World Cup final," he said. "It's something that … it's only a dream for a referee, for a young referee when they start. So, I'm very proud, very proud of myself, my team."

"It's very difficult to put everything into words, but I'm very proud to represent my country, Slovenia, in the biggest sporting event in the world," he added. "I'm very proud. My team is very proud and we will do our best."

Introducing your referee for the @FIFAWorldCup2026 Final….🥁 Congratulations, Slavko Vinčić! 👏 — FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 17, 2026

What is his experience?

Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium will be Vincic's first Argentina match since overseeing their shock 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in the opening round of the 2022 World Cup's group stage.

He has officiated Spain three times, all victories at the European Championship finals, including their semi-final win against France in 2024 before they went on to win that competition.

Vincic is appearing at his second World Cup and fourth major national-team tournament. He was also in charge of the 2021-22 Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers.

In last season's Champions League quarter-finals, Vincic sent off Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga for a second yellow card offence in the 86th minute of their second leg at Bayern Munich, when the tie was 4-4 on aggregate, before the German side scored two late goals to progress. The midfielder was deemed to have delayed a restart by throwing the ball away. He also dismissed Madrid's Arda Guler, who got two bookings for dissent at the end.

Vincic was in charge for England's 3-0 group-stage defeat of Wales at the 2022 finals.

How has he fared at this tournament?

Sunday's final will be his fourth game of the tournament — and a sixth World Cup match overall — and first since he dismissed Ecuador's Piero Hincapie for covering his mouth while confronting Mexico's Santiago Gimenez in the round of 32.

He also took charge of the group-stage meetings at this edition between Brazil and Morocco and Jordan and Algeria.

Why Vincic's appointment is unusual

The appointment of Slavko Vincic came as something of a surprise, given the historical FIFA policy of selecting officials from a different continent to the two finalists.

But the Slovenian is held in the highest esteem by FIFA head of referees Pierluigi Collina.