Daijiworld Media Network – New York

New York, Jul 17: FIFA has appointed Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic to officiate the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Argentina and Spain, scheduled to be played in New York on Sunday.

The announcement was made by FIFA's Head of Refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, who congratulated Vincic on receiving one of football's highest honours. Vincic will be assisted by fellow Slovenians Tomaž Klancnik and Andraž Kovacic, while Adham Makhadmeh will serve as the fourth official and Mohammad Alkalaf as the reserve assistant referee.

The 46-year-old referee broke down in tears after learning of his appointment, with FIFA sharing a video of the emotional moment on social media.

The World Cup final will be Vincic's sixth match at the FIFA World Cup and his fourth assignment during the 2026 tournament. He previously officiated two matches during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Widely regarded as one of Europe's top referees, Vincic has officiated several high-profile matches, including the 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium and the 2022 UEFA Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers. He has also handled numerous UEFA Champions League, Nations League, European Championship and FIFA Club World Cup fixtures.

Vincic has a notable history with Argentina, having officiated their shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. During that match, he awarded Argentina a penalty after Leandro Paredes was fouled inside the box, which Lionel Messi successfully converted. The defeat ended Argentina's 36-match unbeaten run and remains the team's last World Cup loss.

His appointment comes amid heightened scrutiny of refereeing decisions and the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology during the ongoing World Cup, with debates over officiating continuing throughout the tournament.