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Slovenian Whistleblower Takes Charge of World Cup Final
20 Jul
Summary
- Slavko Vincic, a Slovenian official, will referee the Spain-Argentina World Cup final.
- He previously officiated the 2024 Champions League final.
- Vincic expressed shock and immense pride at his historic appointment.
Slavko Vincic, a 46-year-old official from Maribor, Slovenia, has been appointed as the referee for Sunday's FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium. This marks a historic occasion, as Vincic is the first Slovenian to officiate the world's most prestigious football match.
He will be assisted by fellow Slovenians Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic, with German Bastian Dankert serving as the VAR official. Vincic, who also refereed the 2024 Champions League final, was emotional upon hearing the news, calling it an incredible honor and a dream for any referee.
Vincic's experience includes officiating Spain three times in past European Championships, with all matches resulting in Spanish victories. He also oversaw Argentina's 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the 2022 World Cup group stage. This will be his fourth major national-team tournament and second World Cup appearance.
The choice of Vincic, a respected figure praised by FIFA's head of referees Pierluigi Collina, comes despite a historical FIFA policy of selecting officials from continents different from the finalists. Vincic is known for his tough officiating style, as evidenced by nine yellow cards shown in a match involving Argentinian side River Plate last year.
