Slavko Vinčić broke the silence after the World Cup final: his retirement, the VAR, and praise for Lionel Messi

Several days after the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain that ended his career as a referee, Slavko Vinčić broke his silence and held his first press conference, where he reviewed the feelings he had directing the most important match in football, in addition to referring to the VAR, Lionel Messi, and the next steps in his career.

The decision to retire and his future in football

Vinčić confirmed that he had already decided to end his career before the start of the World Cup, although he never imagined that his farewell would be nothing less than a World Cup final. "It was my decision before the tournament. I never imagined that my last match would be the World Cup final," said the 46-year-old referee.

Although his time as a referee has come to an end, Vinčić assured that he will remain connected to the sport from another place. "I will always be willing to share my experience with new generations," he expressed.

Finally, he referred to the media interest that his figure sparked after the final and the publications about his personal life: "I tried to stay as far away as possible from media topics. The experience over all these years has taught me that there are simply positive and negative topics."

The impact of being chosen for the final

The Slovenian recalled with emotion the moment when Pierluigi Collina informed him that he had been designated to officiate the match between Argentina and Spain.

"At that moment, I was in shock. It was a few seconds filled with emotion, my entire career flashed before my eyes. I felt immense pride: pride for myself, for the three of us (he and his assistants Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič) and pride for representing Slovenia, the Slovenian Football Federation, and the refereeing organization in such an important event," he recounted.

However, he acknowledged that he quickly understood the challenge ahead: "Immediately after these emotions came the awareness of the exceptional responsibility to live up to that trust and bring the match to a successful conclusion." He also admitted that he was hoping for that opportunity, although he estimated that he had only a 10 to 20 percent chance of receiving the designation.

His analysis of refereeing

Reflecting on the match's development, Vinčić explained that instinct and experience are fundamental for making decisions in a final of such magnitude. "When you start refereeing, some things come automatically. I had to decide whether to be very strict at certain moments and start showing cards or simply give warnings. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't," he noted.

While he avoided rating himself, he considered that the work plan worked: "It wouldn't be objective for me to evaluate my own work. However, after the match, the reactions were positive. When your career comes down to a single match, and with that comes the responsibility of whether the match goes well or poorly, I believe that after the final whistle we didn't have too many problems and that my strategy during those 120 minutes was correct."

The defense of VAR

Another key point of the conference was technology. The Slovenian referee supported the use of VAR and stated that it would be unthinkable to officiate without that tool today. "I can confidently say that the workload of the referee today is significantly lower than before the introduction of VAR. You always have someone who can help you with situations that happen so quickly that you don't see them. I am an absolute defender of this technology and I can no longer imagine refereeing without the VAR system," he maintained.

Additionally, he emphasized that any aspect to be corrected is part of the system's evolution: "If there is too much or too little in some aspect, it is a matter of development, but basically it represents a great advantage for football."

The chat with Messi

One of the most talked-about moments of the final was the exchange he had with Lionel Messi during the match. While he avoided revealing the content of the conversation, he highlighted the attitude of the Argentine captain. "I will leave that conversation on the field. But I can say that Messi behaved in a sportsmanlike manner," he stated.

He also explained that language never represents a barrier with players of that level: "Players at this level have so much experience that they perfectly understand body language. Language is not a barrier."