In a few days, Real Madrid will face Dortmund in the most important match of the UEFA competition season, the Champions League final.
The referee for the match has now been announced. It is Slavko Vincic who has been selected over other referees vying to officiate the big European showdown, such as the Dutch Makkelie, the Polish Marciniak, or the English Taylor.
The Slovenian referee was in charge of the 2021 Europa League final. He notably angered Xavi during an Inter-Barcelona match.
A compatriot of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, Vincic has officiated seven Champions League matches this season, including the second leg of the quarter-final between Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid (4-2 to the Germans).
He has been somewhat of a lucky charm for Dortmund as the German club has never lost when he’s been the referee.
Slavko Vincic will succeed the Polish Marciniak, who officiated City-Inter in the previous edition.
This will be his first time officiating a Real Madrid match as he has never crossed paths with the Madrid team in his career.
However, he does have experience with Spanish teams. Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona don’t have fond memories of him. In 2022, he refereed the Inter Milan-Barcelona match (1-0) in the group stage, which was marked by controversy as Barcelona complained about a handball by Dumfries that could have resulted in a penalty. Xavi was furious, criticizing the referee: “It’s an injustice, for me it’s very clear, the referee should come and explain himself.”
He has also officiated matches involving Atletico, Valencia, Sevilla, and Villarreal in the Champions League. He also refereed the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League Final Four between Spain and Italy (2-1) last summer.
Involved in a controversy in 2020
In the midst of the pandemic, in mid-May 2020, Vincic traveled to Suhio Polje in Bosnia-Herzegovina for private meetings. He was invited to lunch at a ranch and went there with his associates. When they arrived, they sat at a table in a place where there were many people they didn’t know.
During the meal, the place was surrounded by Bosnian security forces, and everyone present at the ranch was arrested.
It was later revealed that it was a raid related to drug trafficking, prostitution, and tax evasion. Vincic was questioned but was immediately released.
From all of the above, everything happens on the pitch, and Real Madrid will have to bring their A-game against Dortmund if they want to win the Champions League for the 15th time in their history.
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