of world cup Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain will be refereed by Slovenia’s Slavko Vincic. Champions League final.
FIFA announced the nomination late Thursday. it is Two consecutive World Cup finals Argentina, the current defending champions, will play a European opponent with a European referee.
FIFA faced Criticism during the current World Cup That’s because Argentina appear to have benefited from some refereeing decisions, such as when soccer great Lionel Messi escaped a red card for a ferocious attack against Algeria, but Egyptian and South African coaches have claimed discrepancies.
rear Egypt officially claims bigotry Pierluigi Collina, head of FIFA referees, said of the decision in the team’s 3-2 loss to Argentina, “No one can doubt the integrity of the match referees at the FIFA World Cup.”
In his three games so far at the 2026 World Cup, Vincic has been shown seven yellow cards and one red card, with no penalty awarded.
Vincic’s most recent fight was in the round of 32 over two weeks ago. Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie was sent off. After receiving a video review for covering his mouth during a confrontation with a Mexican opponent.
Vincic also featured in two group stage matches, with Brazil and Morocco drawing 1-1 and Algeria defeating Jordan 2-1.
Bayern vs Madrid epic
The biggest game for Vincic last season for European clubs was Bayern Munich won 4-3 Defeated against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Vincic showed five Madrid players yellow cards, giving Eduardo Camavinga a second yellow card for wasting time and Alda Güler for dissent, before being sent off in the final stages of the game.
They were one of only three red cards given to Vincic in nine Champions League games, and only two penalties awarded by him.
The 46-year-old Slovenian was the referee for Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the 2024 Champions League final.
Slovenia links
Vincic’s selection by FIFA surprised some officials, given ongoing tensions between president Gianni Infantino and UEFA, led by Slovenian lawyer Aleksandar Ceferin, who is expected to attend the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
UEFA claims FIFA has ‘crossed a line that should not be crossed’ The United States suspended the mandatory one-game suspension for U.S. forward Folarin Balogun to play Belgium in the Round of 16, calling the decision “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjust.”
On the fourth day of the World Cup, some soccer federations released a letter during a conference hosted by FIFA in Miami. criticize Ceferin personally A few days before the tournament in Slovenia, we reported on comments made regarding the expansion of the 48-team competition format.
Vincic follows Poland’s Szymon Marciniak as the host of world football’s biggest match. Marciniak awarded penalties for each team in the thrilling 3-3 draw between Argentina and France in the World Cup final in Qatar in December 2022. Argentina then won on penalties, with Marciniak showing goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez a yellow card for unsporting behavior for trying to distract a French player.
Vincic’s selection continues the pattern of 10 consecutive World Cups since 1990. This means that European referees will be selected for finals held outside Europe, and referees from other continents will be selected for finals held in Europe. Among them is Italian Colina, the best referee of his generation, who played an active role in Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Germany in the 2002 final in Japan.
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