Spain vs. Argentina: Who is the referee for World Cup final? Past controversies and record in charge of both teams

The reigning European champions will face the current World Cup holders when Spain battles Argentina in Sunday's final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Spain are set to compete in their first World Cup final since lifting the trophy in 2010 after comfortably dispatching a strong French side in Tuesday's semi-final.

Argentina, meanwhile, staged a late turnaround to beat England 2-1 in Wednesday's last-four tie, leaving them just one win away from becoming the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the referee and VAR appointments for the biggest game in football.

Who is the referee for Spain vs. Argentina?

Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic has been chosen as the referee for the 2026 World Cup final.

The 46-year-old has officiated three matches in the tournament, most recently Mexico's 1-0 win over Ecuador in the Round of 32.

Ecuador's Piero Hincapie was dismissed in the latter stages of that contest after Vincic ruled that he had covered his mouth while confronting an opponent following a visit to the pitchside monitor.

Vincic has previous experience of hosting major finals, including the 2024 Champions League showdown between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

Two years earlier, he had taken charge of the 2022 Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers.

Vincic admitted it came as a "surprise" to be named the World Cup final referee by FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina.

"First of all, it was a surprise," Vincic said. "Then came the joy. My legs were shaking. It's an incredible honour to referee a World Cup Final."

"It's something every young referee dreams about when starting out. I'm incredibly proud of myself, proud of my team, and honestly, I still can't believe it."

Slavko Vincic's record in Spain matches

Vincic has previously overseen five games involving Spain, with those matches yielding two draws and three wins for La Roja.

The Slovenian official was the man in the middle for a 2-2 friendly draw against Colombia in 2017, a goalless affair with Sweden in the group stage of 2020 and a 3-2 win over Italy in the 2023 Nations League semi-finals.

Vincic then oversaw two of Spain's matches in their triumphant Euro 2024 campaign, a 1-0 success against Italy in the group stage and the 2-1 win over France in the last four.

Across those five matches, he showed 21 yellow cards, no reds and awarded one penalty.

Slavko Vincic's record in Argentina matches

Vincic's appointment may be seen as a bad omen for Argentina, given that they lost their only previous match officiated by the experienced referee.

The official was in charge of Argentina's surprise 2-1 defeat in the 2022 World Cup group stage, the last time that Lionel Scaloni's side lost in football's biggest tournament.

Vincic awarded a penalty to La Albiceleste in the early stages of that encounter, which was subsequently dispatched by Lionel Messi.

Past controversy: Vincic criticised by Real Madrid

Eduardo Camavinga is SENT OFF in the 85th minute with a second booking ?

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 15, 2026

Vincic was the centre of a controversial decision to dismiss Eduardo Camavinga in the latter stages of April's Champions League quarter-final second leg between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

The Frenchman was given a second yellow after he fouled Harry Kane and then was ruled to have delayed the restart by keeping the ball.

Bayern would go on to make full use of the numerical advantage, scoring two late goals to seal a 6-4 aggregate win.

After the game, Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa called the decision "unbelievable", while midfielder Jude Bellingham labelled the red card "a joke".