The referee of the World Cup final retired a week after the end

Slavko Vinčić announced his retirement from refereeing within a week of the end of the World Cup final. The Slovenian Football Federation confirmed this in a statement.

A week ago, Spain defeated Argentina in extra time with a goal from Ferran Torres. Vinčić showed Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez a red card in added time after the scheduled 90 minutes. An unpleasant scene was seen on the field after the match, where Argentina's Leandro Paredes threw Spain's Gavi to the ground. Although the referee did not show Paredes a card, FIFA is now investigating the incident.

Vinčić came into the spotlight before the final. When FIFA announced his name as the referee in charge of the final in front of the referees, Vinčić broke down in tears. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) declared him the best referee of this year's World Cup. The Italian referees' association AIA awarded him the biennial Julio Campanati Award for the best official at a World Cup or Euro.

Vinčić officiated four matches in this year's World Cup - the group stage matches between Brazil and Morocco and Jordan and Algeria, the last-16 match between Mexico and Ecuador (where he showed Ecuador's Piero Hincapie a red card for breaking the new rule of covering his mouth) and finally the final.

Vinčić, a member of UEFA's elite referees' panel since 2019, has previously refereed the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and Spain and Italy in 2024. One of Vinčić's biggest achievements was the 2024 Champions League final, where Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to win a record 15th title. He also refereed the 2022 Europa League final (Rangers-Eintracht Frankfurt) and was the fourth referee in the 2021 Manchester United-Villarreal Europa League final.

He was also given the responsibility of refereeing high-voltage matches between Galatasaray and José Mourinho's Fenerbahce in the 2025 Turkish Super League. He also refereed two matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, including Saudi Arabia's surprise victory over Argentina.

According to a statement from the Slovenian Football Federation and related sources, Vinčić's season was already being seen as the 'farewell season' of his career.

In other words, the decision to retire was not a sudden decision made in response to the criticism of the final; rather, he chose this World Cup as a planned finale to his career. The IFFHS Best Referee Award and the Julio Campanati Award were described in the relevant statements as the crowning glory of that farewell season.

Vincic, who started his career as the sixth referee at Euro 2012, has officiated 72 matches in UEFA's top two club competitions over a 14-year career. His career culminated in the World Cup final, the biggest stage in world football.