46-YEAR-OLD SLAVKO VINCIC TO OFFICIATE THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL BETWEEN SPAIN AND ARGENTINA

By Isaac Amponsah (Dr Ike)

• Slavko Vincic was born on November 25, 1979 in Maribor, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia and has been an international-listed referee for FIFA since 2010.

• On May 13, 2024, Vincic was selected by UEFA to officiate the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

• On July 16, 2026, Vincic was selected to officiate the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina.

• FIFA World Cup matches officiated by Slavko Vincic so far:

• November 29, 2022 (Group Stage) [2022 World Cup]

Venue: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan 

Wales 0-3 England 

Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

• November 22, 2022 (Group Stage) [2022 World Cup]

Venue: Lusail Stadium, Lusail 

Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia 

Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

• June 13, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup)

Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford 

Brazil 1-1 Morocco 

Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia) 

• June 22, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]

Venue: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara 

Jordan 1-2 Algeria 

Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

• June 30, 2026 (Round of 32) [2026 FIFA World Cup]

Venue Estadio Azteca, Mexico City 

Mexico 2-0 Ecuador 

Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

• Slavko Vincic has so far issued one red card in his previous FIFA World Cup games officiated since 2022 edition of the tournament (5 World Cup games), [Mexico vs Ecuador in Round of 32 fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to Piero Martin Hincapie Reyna of Ecuador on the 90+5 minute]. Details of the Yellow cards by games:

• Argentina vs Saudi Arabia (6 yellow cards) [2022]

• Wales vs England (2 yellow cards) [2022]

• Brazil vs Morocco (2 yellow cards) [2026]

• Jordan vs Algeria (2 yellow cards) [2026]

• Mexico vs Ecuador (3 yellow cards) [2026]

• This fixture will be the first time Slavko Vincic or a referee from Slovenia will officiate Spain game at the FIFA World Cup since their debut appearance in 1934 edition.

• Argentina lost their only previous game officiated by Slavko Vincic at the FIFA World Cup tournament (Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia in 2022) [Group Stage]

• Slovenia will be the 15th nation to have a referee appointed to officiate the FIFA World Cup Final since 1930:

1. Belgium (1930)

2. Sweden (1934)

3. France (1938, 1958)

4. England (1954, 1974, 2010)

5. Soviet Union (1962)

6. Switzerland (1966)

7. East Germany (1970)

8. Italy (1978, 2002, 2014)

9. Brazil (1982, 1986)

10. Mexico (1990)

11. Hungary (1994)

12. Morocco (1998)

13. Argentina (2006, 2018)

14. Poland (2022)

15. Slovenia (2026)

• List of Center Referees for the FIFA World Cup Finals since 1930:

• 1930 John Langenus (Belgium)

• 1934 Ivan Eklind (Sweden)

• 1938 Georges Capdeville (France)

• 1954 William Ling (England)

• 1958 Maurice Guigue (France)

• 1962 Nikolay Latyshev (Soviet Union)

• 1966 Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)

• 1970 Rudi Glockner (East Germany)

• 1974 Jack (Taylor England)

• 1978 Sergio Gonella (Italy)

• 1982 Arnaldo Cezar Coelho (Brazil)

• 1986 Romualdo Arppi Filho (Brazil)

• 1990 Edgardo Codesal (Mexico)

• 1994 Sandor Puhl (Hungary)

• 1998 Said Belgola (Morocco)

• 2002 Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

• 2006 Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)

• 2010 Howard Webb (England)

• 2014 Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)

• 2018 Nestor Pitana (Argentina)

• Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

• Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

• NB: In the 1950 edition of the FIFA World Cup, at the Final Round, two games were played simultaneously on July 16, 1950:

• Sweden 3-1 Spain 

Referee: Karel Van der Meer (Netherlands)

• Uruguay 2-1 Brazil 

Referee: George Reader (England)

• Referees who have taken charge of multiple prestigious FIFA World Cup Final:

• No Referee has ever officiated two FIFA World Cup Final as the main center Referee, FIFA assigns a different official to this role for every tournaments, FIFA keeps on rotating every tournament.