Slovenian Slavko Vinčić, referee of the 2026 World Cup final, announced his retirement from refereeing.
Vinčić retired at the age of 46, according to ESPN.
The announcement of the referee's retirement comes one week after officiating the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
It seems the Slovenian referee chose to retire while at the top of the game.
The official FIFA account published clips from the announcement of the final referee, showing Vinčić crying with joy at being selected to officiate the match.
That was the sixth match in the 46-year-old referee's World Cup history.
Vinčić witnessed Saudi Arabia's 2-1 victory over Argentina in the 2022 World Cup.
He also officiated the England vs Wales match in the same World Cup, which ended with a 3-0 win for the Three Lions, limiting him to two group stage matches.
In the 2026 World Cup, he officiated two group stage matches: Brazil vs Morocco 1-1, and Algeria's 2-1 win over Jordan.
He was also assigned the Mexico vs Ecuador match in the round of 32, which ended with a 2-0 win for the hosts.
In last season's UEFA Champions League, the Slovenian referee officiated the return leg between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
He faced criticism after sending off Real Madrid player Eduardo Camavinga.
Footage showed the referee issuing a second yellow card to the royal player Eduardo Camavinga for time-wasting, before Bayern Munich players reminded him of an earlier yellow, prompting him to show the red card.
