Champions League final referee: Who is he, where is he from, record, what to know about Slavko Vincic

Slovenia’s Slavko Vincic won the assignment to referee this season’s UEFA Champions League final, which will see Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid duke it out for Europe’s top prize at Wembley Stadium on June 1.

The 44-year-old Vincic will take charge of the match two years after refereeing the 2022 Europa League final in Seville, when Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers on penalties after a 1-1 game. He boasts a moderate record when it comes to handing out bookings and penalties this season, which includes games he officiated across various European competitions as well as his native Slovenia.

Vincic will be assisted by several other officials from Slovenia, as well as referees from France and Italy.

Here’s what you need to know about the referees in charge of the 2024 Champions League final.

Who are the referees?

Vincic will serve as the first official, while fellow Slovenians Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic will serve as his assistants. France’s Francois Letexier will be the fourth official and Cyril Mugnier, another Frenchman, will be the reserve assistant referee.

Another Slovenian in Nejc Kajtazoovic will be the video assistant referee for the final and countryman Rade Oblenovic will be the assistant. Italian Massimiliano Irrati was assigned the responsibility of being the VAR support.

What’s the first official’s record?

Vincic has refereed 23 games this season across Slovenian competition and in Europe, handing out 91 yellow cards, one red card and two penalties. The vast majority of those yellow cards came in Slovenia’s Prva Liga, handing out 55 bookings in 13 games this season. Both of the penalties he awarded this season also came in the Slovenian top flight.

He was assigned to five Champions League matches this season, handing out 19 yellow cards in the process. Vincic has refereed two knockout stage games already — Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over Lazio in the second leg of the round of 16, when three Lazio players were booked, and Dortmund’s 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the quarterfinals, when he also handed out three yellow cards.

What happened in the last final the first official took charge of?

Vincic took charge of the 2022 Europa League final, which Frankfurt won on penalties over Rangers. That match was thankfully more about the players than the referee, since Vincic handed out just two yellow cards to Rangers players and the only penalties to speak of were in the shootout.