The World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday will be refereed by Slavko Vinčić of Slovenia, two years after he was in charge of a Champions League final.
FIFA announced the pick late Thursday. It's the second straight World Cup final where Argentina, now the defending champion, will have a European referee to face a European opponent.
FIFA has faced criticism during the current World Cup for Argentina seeming to get the benefit of some refereeing decisions — including when soccer great Lionel Messi escaped a red card for a rough challenge on an Algeria opponent — with the coaches of Egypt and South Africa claiming inconsistencies.
After Egypt formally alleged bias in decisions during its 3-2 loss to Argentina, FIFA director of referees Pierluigi Collina said: “Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials.”
In his three games so far at the 2026 World Cup, Vinčić has shown seven yellow cards and one red card, and awarded no penalty kicks.
In the most recent of his games, in the round of 32 more than two weeks ago, Vinčić sent off Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie after a video review for covering his mouth in a confrontation with a Mexico opponent.
Vinčić also worked two group-stage games, when Brazil and Morocco drew 1-1 and Algeria beat Jordan 2-1.
In the last European club season, Vinčić’s biggest match was Bayern Munich’s 4-3 win over Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Vinčić showed yellow cards to five Madrid players, and second yellows to Eduardo Camavinga for timewasting and Arda Guler for dissent to send them off late in the game.
Those were among just three red cards that Vinčić showed in nine Champions League games and he awarded just two penalties.
The 46-year-old Slovenian refereed Madrid’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the 2024 Champions League final.
FIFA’s pick of Vinčić surprised some observers given ongoing tensions between its president Gianni Infantino and UEFA, led by Slovenian lawyer Aleksander Ceferin, who should attend the final at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
UEFA claimed FIFA “crossed a red line” in suspending a mandatory one-game ban for United States forward Folarin Balogun to let him face Belgium in the round of 16, and called the decision “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”
On day four of the World Cup, some soccer federations published a letter during a FIFA-hosted conference in Miami criticizing Ceferin personally for a reported comment made days before the tournament in Slovenia about the expanded 48-team competition format.
Vinčić follows Szymon Marciniak of Poland in being chosen to officiate the biggest match in world soccer. Marciniak awarded a penalty to each team in the thrilling 3-3 draw in the World Cup final between Argentina and France in Qatar in December 2022. Argentina then won the penalty shootout in which Marciniak showed a yellow card to goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez for unsporting conduct in trying to distract French players.
The pick of Vinčić continues a pattern for 10 straight World Cups since 1990: European referees are chosen for finals played outside Europe, and referees from other continents are picked for finals played in Europe. Those include Italian Collina, the premier referee of his generation, who worked Brazil's 2-0 win over Germany in the 2002 final in Japan.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan argues with referee Francois Letexier, of France, during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, front center, sits with U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone, left, and Pascale Van Damme during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, Monday, July 6, 2026. Top row, from left, former U.S. soccer player Alex Morgan, former U.S. women's national team coach Jill Ellis, and former referee Pierluigi Collina watch. (AP Photo/Nick Didlick)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 17, 2026--
Alipay+, a global digital payment gateway under Ant International, today announced that it will enable global travellers to make QR code payments at millions of merchants across Argentina through integration with the country's national QR payment scheme Transferencias 3.0, in partnership with PVS, a fintech company specialized in developing customized payment solutions in Latin America.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260717276406/en/
This service helps to enhance global travellers' travel experiences in Argentina, allowing them to pay seamlessly at restaurants, malls and tourist attractions. Using an Alipay+ partner payment app, they can now scan the national QR code displayed at all merchants to make cross-border payments across Argentina, similar to when they make digital payments in their home countries.
Alipay+ now connects 150 million merchants to over 50 global digital wallets and banking apps, reaching 2 billion user accounts. The merchant network includes those connected through over 10 national QR schemes across Asia and Middle East. Alipay+ partner apps will be enabled for cross-border payments in Argentina in phases. This would help local merchants, especially small businesses, to serve more international customers while continuing to use their existing QR acceptance infrastructure.
Argentina is home to one of the world's most advanced mobile payment ecosystems, where QR code payments is an integral part of everyday commerce. At its core is Transferencias 3.0, the national interoperable instant payment infrastructure developed by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), which enables consumers to pay with any participating digital wallet or banking app by scanning a single QR code.
“The way people pay is changing rapidly, and merchants need payment experiences that evolve at the same pace,” said Lucio Colunga, CEO of PVS. “Through our partnership with Alipay+, we are giving merchants across Latin America access to one of the world's largest digital payment ecosystems, connecting them with more than 2 billion user accounts worldwide. This enables international travellers to pay with the wallets they already know and trust while creating new growth opportunities for businesses across the region. This is another step toward a more connected, interoperable and global payments ecosystem.”
"Argentina's highly interoperable digital payment ecosystem creates a strong foundation for seamless digital commerce," said Weixiao Jiang, General Manager for North Asia and the Americas, Alipay+, Ant International. "We're honoured to integrate with the national QR payment scheme through the partnership with PVS. By connecting travellers from key international markets with a broad network of merchants, we hope to help boost inbound visitor spending, supporting the country's tourism economy while bringing more opportunities for local businesses."
With an average of over 20 million daily transactions, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. It supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes across Asia, Europe, and the Americas with a comprehensive suite of solutions, ranging from payment and account services to embedded credit services, treasury management and other AI-powered financial innovations.
This latest initiative follows Alipay+'s partnership with PVS in May 2026 to roll out cross-border mobile payment service in Argentina and Chile. In addition, Ant International became the Argentina National Football Team's official sponsor for the Asia region (excluding the Middle East) in March 2026.
Beyond Argentina, Ant International is expanding partnerships with global and local payment service providers, fintech companies and digital platforms to broaden access to cross-border payments and inclusive financial services for businesses and consumers across Latin America. Recent initiatives include the co-launch of a digital wallet and the advancement of digital payments in Mexico, as well as expanding access to financing for underserved SMEs and individuals in Brazil.
Alongside QR code payment, Alipay+ NFC (near-field communication) enables cross-border transactions through its partnership with Mastercard. Starting with AlipayHK, GCash and Kakao Pay, users can now make NFC payments at Mastercard-enabled merchants worldwide, including across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and other Latin American markets.
About Alipay+
Ant International's Alipay+ is a unified wallet gateway with cross-border payment and digitisation services that help connect global merchants to consumers. Consumers enjoy seamless payments a broad choice of deals and the convenience of digital services using their preferred payment app/e-wallet while travelling abroad. Many small and medium-sized businesses already use Alipay+ digital tools to enhance efficiency and achieve omni-channel growth.
By connecting to Argentina's national QR payment scheme, Alipay+ now enables global travellers in the country to make convenient QR code payments at merchants nationwide.
