Slavko Vincic to referee World Cup final after career marked by experience and controversy | OneFootball

Slovenia’s Slavko Vincic, 46, will referee Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, the first Slovenian to do so.

L'Équipe notes that he has built a heavyweight CV, spanning World Cups 2022 and 2026, Euros 2021 and 2024, the 2024 Champions League final and the 2022 Europa League final.

At Qatar 2022 he handled two group games, including Argentina’s opener against Saudi Arabia, a 1-2 upset in which he showed six yellow cards, all to the Saudis.

This season was his 10th straight Champions League campaign. He took the Bayern Munich v Real Madrid quarter-final second leg, ending 4-3, and sent off Eduardo Camavinga for a second yellow inside eight minutes for time wasting, a call that sparked controversy in Spain.

He was also at the centre of dispute after Barcelona’s 0-1 loss to Inter in 2022-23, when a Pedri goal was ruled out and a penalty was not given. Club directors even considered filing a complaint to UEFA.

In May 2020 Bosnian police ran Operation Cristal targeting a criminal network. Thirty-five people were detained in a raid near Bijeljina, including Vincic and Serbian starlet Tijana Ajfon. He was held and questioned as a witness, then cleared.

Source: L'Équipe