Slavko Vincic elected to walk away from officiating after taking center stage for the 2026 World Cup final, closing out his career on soccer’s grandest stage. While looking back at Spain’s dramatic victory over Argentina, the Slovenian referee addressed his on-field conversations with Lionel Messi during the high-stakes final.
One week after the final whistle at MetLife Stadium, the Football Association of Slovenia (NZS) officially announced Vincic’s retirement, celebrating his milestone assignment: “A week after the World Cup final in the USA, Slavko Vincic has officially concluded his historic refereeing career at the very top of the world.“
In an interview with Slovenian outlet Sport, Vincic admitted that hearing of his final assignment initially came as a shock. However, representing Slovenian officiating on the world stage was a profound honor, especially “when your entire refereeing career comes down to a single match.“
The match itself featured several critical refereeing moments, highlighted by Enzo Fernandez receiving a second yellow card late in the second half following a tackle on Pau Cubarsi. Despite the high pressure, Vincic praised the officiating crew’s performance: “We were not the main topic of conversation after the match, which shows that we did our job well overall. I think our refereeing strategy was the right one.“
Captains Rodri of Spain and Lionel Messi of Argentina pose with Referee Slavko Vincic and match officials before World Cup Final. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Vincic’s exchange with Messi
With Spain controlling the tempo, Argentina struggled to generate late momentum. One notable moment saw Marc Cucurella covering his mouth to speak to Messi, prompting the Argentine forward to call out the gesture to officials.
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When asked about his direct interactions with Messi during the match, Vincic kept the specifics confidential while praising the superstar’s conduct. “I will leave that conversation on the pitch. But I can say that Messi behaved in a completely sportsmanlike manner,” he stated.
Messi’s tough luck with Vincic on the whistle
Despite a long international career beginning in 2010, Vincic rarely crossed paths with Messi in European club competitions. Vincic officiated a Barcelona match against Inter Milan in October 2022 after Messi had joined PSG, and later refereed a PSG-AC Milan fixture in October 2023 after Messi had already moved to Inter Miami.
Instead, the pair’s only encounters came on the World Cup stage, and both ended in heartbreak for Messi. Their first meeting occurred during Argentina’s shocking 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2022, followed by Spain’s 1-0 extra-time victory in the 2026 final, marking the only two World Cup losses of Lionel Scaloni’s managerial tenure.
