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He ignored Hakimi’s dismissal and angered Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic will face the biggest match of his refereeing career when… He will officiate the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and ArgentinaTomorrow, Sunday, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Despite the 46-year-old Vincic’s status in European arbitration circles, his name has been linked to a number of controversial decisions in recent years, in addition to an incident near stadiums that caused a stir after Bosnian police arrested him in a 2020 raid on a prostitution and drug-trafficking ring, only to be released without charge.
An emotional moment after his selection was announced
The Slovenian referee could not contain his emotions when the Italian Pierluigi Collina, the president of the FIFA refereeing committee, informed him of his selection to officiate the World Cup final.
and:Vincic put his hands on his head, almost shedding tears in front of his teammatesbefore saying: “At first it was shock, then happiness, I was shaking. It is an indescribable honor to serve the final of the World Championship.”
“This is a dream that every referee has had since the beginning of his career, so I am proud of myself and my team. It’s hard to put into words how I feel, but I’m very proud to represent Slovenia at the biggest sporting event in the world, and we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”
He will be assisted by his compatriots Tomasz Klanchnik and Andraz Kovacic in managing the match, and Jordanian Adham Makhadme will take the role of the fourth official, and his compatriot Mohamed Al-Khallaf will help him in the position of reserve assistant.
A career full of great encounters
Vincic has extensive experience in managing major European and international matchesHe participated in the 2020 UEFA Nations League and then officiated the 2022 Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers.
In 2024, he took charge of the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, and also officiated matches at the 2024 European Championship, including the semi-final between France and Spain.
During the past year, he also participated in the matches of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup hosted in the USA.
The 2026 edition is his second appearance at the World Cup, after he officiated two matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At Arab level, the Slovenian referee has previously officiated several Saudi Arabian football matches, notably Al-Nasr and Al-Ittihad Clasico in the second round of the Roshen Professional League last season, and Al-Ahly and Al-Hilal in the first round of the 2024-2025 season, in addition to the Egyptian Summit and Al-Aliga. 2022-2023 season.
Spain does not know defeat with Vincic’s whistle
The Slovenian referee had refereed one match for Argentina in the World Cup before, in the last match in Qatar, when the Tango team lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia, which was Argentina’s last defeat in the World Cup.
As for Spain, he made five appearances for them, starting with a 2-2 friendly draw against Colombia in 2017 and then a goalless draw with Sweden to open La Roja’s campaign at Euro 2020.
He also took charge of the 2023 UEFA Nations League semi-final between Spain and Italy, which ended in a 2–1 win for Spain, before making two appearances for Spain at the last UEFA Nations Championship, the first against Italy in a 1–0 win and the second against France in a 2–1 semi-final win.
The Spanish team did not have any losses in the matches held by Vinčić.
“Law of Vinicius” incident
During the 2026 World Cup, he played 3 matches: Brazil and Morocco (1-1), Jordan and Algeria (2-1 for Algeria), and Mexico and Ecuador (2-0) in the round of 32.
The current edition witnessed one of the most outstanding refereeing moments involving the Slovenian referee. When Ecuador’s Pero Hincapi was shown the red card because he covered his mouth while talking to his opponent.Applying what has become known in the media as the “Law of Vinicius”.
❌ The defender of the Ecuador national team, Piero Hincape, was expelled for keeping his mouth shut during a conversation with the Mexican player Santiago Jimenez.#WorldCup2026 |: #WorldCup2026 |: #World Cup#beINWC26 |: #FIFAWorldCup2026 |: #fifaworldcup pic.twitter.com/K0Ttg9lIgu
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 1, 2026
The roots of this incident come from last season’s Champions League clash between Benfica and Real Madrid, when Argentinian Gianluca Pristiani was sent off for the same behaviour.
Hakimi’s shot that sparked controversy
Despite picking up seven yellow cards and one red card in his three games at the tournament, the most controversial was his decision not to penalize Morocco’s Achraf Hakim following his brutal tackle on Brazil’s Vinicius Junior.
The intervention came in first-half stoppage time after Hakimi ran into the Brazilian’s ankle, and despite the severity of the tackle, the referee did not show a card, nor did the VAR intervene.
Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic commented on the shooting on Fox Sports, saying: “When I saw the intervention, the first thing that came to my mind was that the referee should be in control of the game. It’s not about the player’s name or playing time, it’s about protecting the players.”
He added: “The attacker had already overtaken the opponent, and the danger was clear, but the contact came too late.
Decisions that angered “Real” and “Barcelona”.
Despite his vast experience, Vincic does not enjoy a consensus in Spanish football as he has been widely criticized in the past for a number of his decisions in Spanish club matches.
The Archivo VAR platform even criticized his selection for the World Cup final, saying the international federation was “causing controversy” by appointing him, noting that the Slovenian referee “has suffered a lot in the big games of the European season and loses control when the intensity of the competition increases”.
🚨💥 #Official: |: FIFA trolls the world and appoints Slavko Vincic for the World Cup final match between Spain and Argentina.
❌ The Slovenian has had a disastrous season in Europe, losing control of games when the intensity was raised to a higher level. pic.twitter.com/Ripw1WEcoB
— VAR file (@ArchivoVAR) July 17, 2026
One of the most prominent incidents that caused anger in Madrid was the sending off of Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga during the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid were leading 3-2 before Vincic showed Kamavinga a second yellow card for time wasting, even though he had given him a first warning minutes earlier for a heavy tackle.
The decision angered former defender Alvaro Arbeloa, who said: “The referee killed the match. You can’t send a player off the field for a hit like that.”
Barcelona were also not far from controversy, as their fans still remember the 2022 Champions League match against Inter Milan when Vincic missed a penalty after a handball on Denzel Dumfries in the box.
On the other hand, Pedri’s goal was disallowed for an unintentional touch by Ansu Fati after the ball had bounced off the keeper, a decision that sparked major protests at the Catalan club.
Prostitution and drug incident
Away from the pitch, the Slovenian referee found himself at the center of an incident that caught the attention of the European media in 2020.
While he was in Bieljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, police arrested him as part of an operation targeting a prostitution and drug-trafficking network, the network said. RCC:French.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 26 men and 9 women, including Tiana Maksimovic, who authorities believed was the mastermind of the prostitution ring before later pleading guilty to the charges against her.
During the operation, the police also confiscated 4 packages of cocaine, 10 pistols and 3 bulletproof vests, in addition to more than 10,000 euros in different currencies.
Reports at the time indicated that Vincic was suspected of using the network’s services before being questioned and released without any charges against him.
The Slovenian referee denied any involvement in the case and told the Slovenian newspaper Fetchr:
He added, “I have nothing to do with the arrested group, yes, the police took us to their station and questioned us as witnesses, and after it became clear that we did not know any of those people, they let us go.”
He also received support from the Slovenian Football Federation, which deemed the incident “just bad luck”, stressing that the referee was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” with no connection to the criminal activity targeted by the operation.
