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New York – Everyone is watching him at the World Cup final! Slavko Vincic (46) will watch the match between Argentina and Spain (today from 21:00 on ZDF/MagentaTV and here on BILD live broadcast) whistle. This will be the first world championship final in refereeing. After the announcement, he brought his hands to his face and began to cry. The scenes went around the world. Six years ago, the Slovenian made completely different headlines.
In May 2020, he was arrested in a raid on a sex and drugs party along with 34 others. At that time, the Slovenian was a guest at an illegal party in the Bosnian city of Bijeljina, organized by Instagram model Tijana Maksimovic (“Tijana iPhone”). And she was already under surveillance because she was part of a gang involved in guns, drugs and prostitution. The police broke up the party, arrested all the guests and confiscated a large amount of drugs. At that time, the Slovenian was already a referee in the Champions League.
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Serious allegations against Vincic
According to police, Vinčić and other men used or planned to use the sexual services of Maksimovic and her friends. But at the police station it turned out that the judge had nothing to do with the illegal business and did not even know the other guests. That’s why he was allowed to go again.
In reality, he was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A little later, Vincic told the Vecer news agency: “After a meeting with some business partners, we received an invitation to a party at the ranch, which we accepted. Which turned out to be a big mistake. I really regret it.”
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The referee whistled for BVB in the Champions League final
The arrest had no sporting consequences for Vincic. The Slovenian is considered one of the best referees in the world. His biggest final to date: he judged it in 2024. Champions League-Duel between Real Madrid and BVB.
VMThe final will be the Slovenian’s fourth game in this tournament. He refereed two group games between Brazil and Morocco (1:1) and Jordan and Algeria (1:2). So far, Vincic has only been allowed to play in one knockout match – the round of 16 between Mexico and Ecuador (2-0).