World Cup Final Referee Revealed: The Official Who Judged Both Argentina and Spain Before
The stage is set for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, and a familiar face will take center pitch. Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic has been appointed to officiate the highly anticipated title decider between Argentina and Spain. The match will kick off on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, promising a thrilling contest.
FIFA confirmed the officiating team on Thursday evening. Vincic, 46, will lead a crew of fellow Slovenians, Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic, who will serve as assistant referees. Jordan’s Adham Makhadmeh will be the fourth official, while Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Kalaf takes on the role of reserve assistant referee.
Vincic brings extensive experience to the world’s biggest football match. He became a FIFA-listed international referee in 2010 and has spent the last 15 years officiating major European and international tournaments. This year alone, he oversaw the prestigious 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
His World Cup journey began at Qatar 2022, where he refereed two group stage matches. In the current 2026 tournament, Vincic has already taken charge of three games: Brazil vs Morocco, Jordan vs Algeria, and Mexico vs Ecuador. The Argentina-Spain final will mark his sixth World Cup match overall and his fourth at this tournament.
Vincic has previous history with both finalists. He officiated Argentina’s group stage match against Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup. In that game, Lionel Messi’s team suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat, which ended their impressive 36-match unbeaten streak. During the match, Vincic awarded Argentina an early penalty, converted by Messi, and issued six yellow cards to Saudi Arabian players.
His association with Spain dates back several years. Vincic first refereed a friendly match involving Spain against Colombia in 2017. He later took charge of their Euro 2020 match against Sweden and the UEFA Nations League semi-final against Italy in 2023. More recently, he oversaw Spain’s 1-0 victory over Italy at Euro 2024 and their 2-1 semi-final win against France, where young star Lamine Yamal scored a memorable long-range goal.
