Who Is Slavko Vincic? Is He Favouring Lionel Messi Over Spain in 2026 FIFA World Cup Final?

Football's most anticipated final has its man in the middle as Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic will take charge of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Argentina and Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Describing the opportunity as an "incredible honour", the Slavko Vincic referee appointment was confirmed by FIFA head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina.

However, the appointment has immediately triggered debate: 'Is the Slavko Vincic FIFA World Cup final 2026 referee appointment good news for Lionel Messi's Argentina, or Spain?'

Who Is Slavko Vincic?

The 46-year-old from Maribor, Slovenia, earned his FIFA badge in 2010. He becomes the 23rd person in history to referee a FIFA World Cup final and the first from Slovenia.

Vincic officiated the 2022 UEFA Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers. He has also officiated the 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at Wembley, and matches at UEFA Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, including the semi-final between France and Spain.

Slavko Vincic Record In Argentina and Lionel Messi Games

Vincic has previously overseen Argentina just once during the 2022 Qatar World Cup group stage clash with Saudi Arabia. A match that ended in a 2-1 upset defeat for Argentina, some of his refereeing calls caught the eye.

However, while the calls in that game actually favoured Argentina early on, even leading to Lionel Messi opening the scoring, before handing out six yellow cards to Saudi Arabia players while keeping his book clean for the Argentine names.

How Has Slavko Vincic Record With Spain?

Vincic's history with La Roja dates back to a 2017 friendly against Colombia, followed by group-stage duties at Euro 2020 against Sweden, and a UEFA Nations League semi-final clash against Italy in 2023. The Slovenian did call these games straight and will be expected to repeat the same feat on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium.