Slavko Vincic quits refereeing after World Cup final

Slavko Vinčić has ended his international refereeing career just a week after the World Cup mega final. The Slovenian Football Association officially confirmed the 46-year-old veteran referee’s retirement after officiating the historic final on US soil.

After Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain in the final, Vinčić was widely criticized for some of his decisions. There was much controversy over Argentina’s lack of control over their physical attacking football on the field and the red card shown to Enzo Fernández after the scheduled 90 minutes.

Despite the controversy, his outstanding contribution to world football has been praised. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) recognized him as the best referee of this World Cup. He also received the prestigious ‘Julio Campanato’ award as the best match official of the tournament.

Some notable aspects of his career:

• International career: Vinčić, who has been on UEFA’s elite panel since 2019, officiated matches at Euro 2020. He was also in charge of the semi-final match between Spain and Italy at Euro 2024.

• World Cup matches: He refereed a total of four matches in this year’s World Cup. He sparked controversy by showing a red card to Piero Hincapie for talking with his hands in violation of the new rules in the match between Mexico and Ecuador.

• Club football’s best moment: He was the main referee of Real Madrid’s record 15th title win in the 2024 Champions League final. He also refereed the 2022 Europa League final and, at the clubs’ special request, became the first foreign referee to officiate the much-talked-about Galatasaray and Fenerbahce match in Turkey.

The Slovenian referee finally blew the whistle, ending a colorful chapter of success and controversy on the big stage of the World Cup.