2026 World Cup final referee retires from football
Slovenian referee Slavco Vincic has retired from officiating football. The 46-year-old was the centre referee in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final when Spain defeated Argentina to win the World Cup for a second time in their history. He is the first Slovenian referee to officiate a FIFA World Cup final, and was awarded the […]
Slovenian referee Slavco Vincic has retired from officiating football. The 46-year-old was the centre referee in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final when Spain defeated Argentina to win the World Cup for a second time in their history.
He is the first Slovenian referee to officiate a FIFA World Cup final, and was awarded the best referee of the tournament award.
He officiated four matches in the tournament.
The Slovenia Football Association revealed Vincic’s retirement in a statement on Monday, with the referee ending his professional career one week after reaching the biggest stage of world football.
Vincic had officiated in both the Europa League and UEFA Champions League finals before taking centre stage at the World Cup. He also had a controversial past when he was arrested in 2020 at a sex party in Bosnia, but the Maribor native and Professional accountant outside football was released hours later with no charges filed.
The Slovenia FA hailed Vincic, stating that he ended his career at the “very top”, and described him as one of the greatest referees in football history.
“One week after the World Cup final in the USA, Slavko Vinčić officially concluded his historic refereeing career at the very top of the world.
“The Maribor native became the first Slovenian head referee to officiate the grand final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, confirming his status as one of the greatest officials in history.
“As the crowning achievement of his farewell season, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) named him the best referee of the World Cup, and he received the prestigious Giulio Campanati award in Italy.”
Vincic began his referee journey at 20 years old and became professional in 2007 before achieving his FIFA badge in 2010.
He was chosen as a special guest foreign referee for the tense and usually violent Turkish Süper Lig derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
He brandished three red cards at the 2026 World Cup, including one each for Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez and Leandro Paredes during and after the World Cup final respectively.