Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic, who was in charge of the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, has announced his final retirement.
There was much refereeing controversy regarding Vinicius's decisions during the World Cup final , namely his failure to take firm action against Argentina's players and their violent tackles on Spain's players.
Vinicius sent off Argentina's star player, Enzo Fernandez, after his violent tackle on Spain's defender, Pau Coparsi, in the final minutes of the second half of the match.
Vincic's retirement was announced via a statement from the Slovenian Football Association, which was reported by ESPN.
The Slovenian Football Association said in a statement: "One week after the World Cup final in the USA, Slavko Vinčić officially concluded his historic refereeing career at the top of the world."
Vincic’s refereeing career came to an end at the age of 46, having joined UEFA’s elite referees since 2019, officiated some matches at Euro 2020, and also refereed the Euro 2024 semi-final between Spain and Italy.
Vincic also refereed the 2024 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, where Real Madrid won 2-0 and claimed the title for the 15th time in their history.
Vincic was also the referee for the 2022 Europa League final between Glasgow Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt, and was assigned the role of fourth official in the 2021 Europa League final between Manchester United and Villarreal, which ended with Villarreal winning on penalties.
