Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić will take charge of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ final between Argentina and Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday 19 July, describing the opportunity as an “incredible honour”.
The 46-year-old from Maribor, Slovenia, was informed of his appointment by Pierluigi Collina, FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer and Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, and said he was taken aback by the news.
“So, first of all, a shock. Then happiness. I was shaking, so it’s an incredible honour to get the (FIFA) 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.“
The appointment makes Vinčić the 23rd person in history to referee a FIFA World Cup final, and the first from Slovenia. “First of all, 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 said. “So, yeah, I’m very proud. My team is very proud and we will do our best.”
Vinčić is an experienced referee who has taken charge of a number of top games in European and international football. He officiated at UEFA EURO 2020 and then took charge of the 2022 UEFA Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers F.C.
Two years later he officiated in the 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid and took charge of games at UEFA EURO 2024, including the semi-final between France and Spain. Last year he refereed games at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ in the United States. This is the Slovenian’s second FIFA World Cup – he took charge of two games during FIFA World Cup 2022™ in Qatar.
So far in this tournament, Vinčić has officiated Brazil v. Morocco and Jordan v. Algeria in the group stage and Mexico v. Ecuador in the round of 32.
Vinčić was quick to share the credit for his achievement with the officiating team around him, in particular his assistant referees Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič. “So, refereeing is all about teamwork. So, without them, without Tomaž and Andraž, this is not possible,” he said. “I’m really happy that I have had them throughout my career, throughout our careers. We are really good friends, a good team, and thanks to them.”
Jordanian Adham Makhadmeh will serve as the fourth official for the final, with his compatriot Mohammad Al-Kalaf as reserve assistant referee.
