The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has decided the referee for the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, scheduled for next Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA, appointing Slovenian Slavko Vinčić, one of Europe's top referees and the highest-rated by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), to officiate the match.

The final will be the third match Vinčić officiates in the current World Cup edition, having previously refereed the Brazil-Morocco match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and the Mexico-Ecuador match, which ended with a 2-0 win for the CONCACAF team.

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The Slovenian referee previously officiated one match for Argentina, when 'La Albiceleste' lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in the opening of their 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar, which remains Argentina's last defeat in the World Cup to date.

In contrast, Vinčić has officiated five matches for the Spanish national team, during which they have not suffered any loss: a 2-2 draw with Colombia in 2017, a goalless draw with Sweden in their opening match of Euro 2020, and a 2-1 win over Italy in the 2023 UEFA Nations League semi-final.

He also officiated two matches for Spain in the recent European Championship: the first against Italy, which ended in a 1-0 victory for Spain, and the second against France in the semi-final, which Spain won 2-1, according to Spanish newspaper 'Marca'.

Raid and arrest

Off the pitch, Vinčić experienced one of the strangest incidents of his career.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-May 2020, he traveled to the Soho Bolye area in Bosnia and Herzegovina to attend a private meeting, where he was invited for lunch at a farm with a number of acquaintances, and they sat at a table among people he did not know.

While they were at the farm, Bosnian security forces suddenly raided the place and arrested everyone present, as it turned out the operation targeted a network involved in drug trafficking, prostitution, and money laundering.

The Slovenian referee was interrogated before being quickly released, returning home to Maribor the same night.

The incident did not result in any legal consequences for him, as authorities confirmed he had no connection to the case, but it remained one of the strangest episodes in the life of a top UEFA referee who found himself accidentally in the middle of a security raid targeting mafia elements.