When Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s refereeing chief, announced the name of the official for the 2026 World Cup final, Slavko Vincic buried his face in his hands and wept. The 46-year-old Slovenian, a FIFA-listed referee since 2010, had just been handed the most prestigious assignment in the game: the title decider between defending champions Argentina and Spain at the 80,663-capacity MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The moment, captured on video and shared by FIFA, showed Vincic being embraced by his long-time assistants, Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič, who will run the lines on Sunday. A German official, Bastian Dankert, will lead the video review team, while Jordan’s Adham Makhadmeh serves as fourth official and Mohammad Alkalaf as reserve assistant.

The appointment crowns a tournament in which Vincic quietly built a case for the final. He oversaw three matches: Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Morocco, Algeria’s 2-1 win over Jordan, and Mexico’s 2-0 victory against Ecuador in the round of 32, where he sent off Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié for covering his mouth during a confrontation—a strict application of FIFA’s clampdown on dissent. European analysts note that Vincic’s experience in high-stakes club finals—the 2022 Europa League showpiece and the 2024 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund—made him a safe pair of hands. Collina stressed that performances, not nationality, drove the choice, adding that the fact Slovenia did not qualify for the tournament removed any potential conflict of interest.

Yet Vincic’s path to the final has been shadowed by an episode far from the pitch. In May 2020, during a police raid on a ranch in Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was among 35 people detained in an operation targeting an alleged international prostitution and drug-trafficking ring. Officers seized cocaine, pistols, body armour and more than €10,000 in cash. Vincic was questioned as a witness and released without charge after several hours. He later told Slovenian media he had accepted an invitation to what he believed was a business lunch, calling it “the biggest mistake of my life”. The Slovenian referees’ association and UEFA backed him, and the incident did not derail his career. Latin American commentators have resurfaced the story in the run-up to the final, while European outlets frame it as a closed chapter that never led to formal proceedings.

For Argentina, Vincic carries a more immediate and uncomfortable memory. He was the referee for their opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when Lionel Scaloni’s side suffered a stunning 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia—a result that remains Argentina’s last loss at a World Cup. That match featured multiple offside calls and disallowed goals via the then-new semi-automated system, though the errors were later attributed to the technology’s application rather than the referee. Spain, by contrast, have never lost in five matches officiated by Vincic, including a 2-1 victory over France in the semi-finals of Euro 2024. Spanish media have highlighted this unbeaten record, while Argentine outlets recall the Saudi Arabia upset with a degree of unease.

The final pits the reigning Copa América champions against the European title-holders, with Argentina seeking a fourth world crown and Spain a second. Argentina reached the decider after a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over England, sealed by Lautaro Martínez’s stoppage-time goal. Spain advanced with a composed 2-0 defeat of France. The match will be the 104th and last of the expanded 48-team tournament, and for Vincic, a career-defining test on the sport’s grandest stage.