The Slovenian Football Association has officially announced that Slavko Vinčić, the referee of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, has retired from officiating.

After taking charge of the World Cup final, Vinčić officially brought his legendary refereeing career to an end. One week after the conclusion of the final at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, the Slovenian referee closed the curtain on his remarkable career on football’s biggest stage.

The referee from Maribor became the first Slovenian referee to officiate a men’s FIFA World Cup final. At MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, he oversaw the historic showdown between Spain and Argentina, further cementing his status as one of the greatest referees in world football history.

As the crowning achievement of his final season, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) named Vinčić the best referee of the 2026 World Cup. He also received the prestigious Giulio Campanati Award in Italy, one of the most respected honors in football refereeing.

Born on November 25, 1979, in Maribor, Slovenia, Vinčić was added to FIFA’s international referee list in 2010.

At UEFA Euro 2012, he served as the sixth official, joining the Slovenian refereeing team that officiated the quarter-final clash between Greece and Germany. In 2013, he refereed matches at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Slovakia, progressing all the way to the semi-finals.

In 2015, Vinčić took charge of his first European knockout match as a referee, officiating the UEFA Europa League round-of-32 first-leg tie between Guingamp and Dynamo Kyiv. The following year, he continued at the same stage of the competition, refereeing Sparta Prague against Krasnodar. In 2019, he also took charge of the Rome derby.

At Euro 2016, Vinčić worked as the sixth official alongside the Slovenian refereeing team led by Damir Skomina. Later that year, he made his UEFA Champions League debut as a referee during the group stage, overseeing Manchester City’s match against Celtic.

From that point onward, Vinčić became a regular referee in the Champions League and was selected for UEFA’s Elite Referee Group at the end of 2019. Before that, he had officiated at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland. In 2019, he returned to Poland to referee matches at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

In 2021, Vinčić reached another milestone in his career. He refereed the UEFA Champions League quarter-final between Porto and Chelsea, as well as the second leg of the Europa League semi-final between Arsenal and Villarreal. He was also included among the 19 referees selected for UEFA Euro 2020, where he officiated three matches, including the quarter-final between Belgium and Italy.

Vinčić participated in UEFA Europa League final officiating duties three times — in 2017, 2021, and 2022.

At the 2017 Europa League final between Ajax and Manchester United, he served as the fifth official as part of the Slovenian refereeing team. In the 2021 Europa League final between Manchester United and Villarreal, he was the fourth official assisting French referee Clément Turpin.

The biggest honor of his career arrived on May 18, 2022, when he refereed the UEFA Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers in Seville.

Before that, Vinčić had already officiated several major European fixtures, including the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 first leg between Benfica and Ajax, the round-of-16 second leg between Manchester United and Atlético Madrid, and the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Bayern Munich and Villarreal. He also served as the fourth official for the Champions League semi-final first leg between Liverpool and Villarreal.

In June 2022, Vinčić traveled to Qatar to referee the FIFA World Cup intercontinental playoff between Australia and Peru.

After more than a decade at the highest level of international football, Slavko Vinčić leaves the game as one of Slovenia’s greatest referees, having reached the pinnacle of officiating by taking charge of a FIFA World Cup final.