Slovenian ref Vincic assigned to Champions League final
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NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić will officiate the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, UEFA said Monday.
The 44-year-old Vinčić, who also worked the 2022 Europa League final when Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers, will be in charge of the June 1 game at Wembley Stadium.
It continues a good run for Slovenian referees in major European games.
This will be the fourth UEFA final handled by a Slovenian referee since Damir Skomina was picked for the 2017 Europa League title game. Dutch and Spanish referees are next best with three men’s finals in that time.
Also Monday, UEFA picked English referee Rebecca Welch for the Women’s Champions League final, István Kovács of Romania for the Europa League final and Artur Soares Dias of Portugal for the Europa Conference League final.
Vinčić has handled five Champions League games this season without awarding a penalty kick or showing a red card. Among his games was Dortmund’s 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the quarterfinals.
He also refereed two games at the 2022 World Cup, including eventual winner Argentina’s 2-1 loss in its opening match against Saudi Arabia.
Kovács also will work his second European final. He refereed the inaugural Europa Conference League final in 2022 when Roma beat Feyenoord.
All three men picked Monday are on UEFA’s team of match officials for the European Championship that starts June 14 in Germany.
The Europa League final between Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta is in Dublin on May 22.
The Women’s Champions League final between defending champion Barcelona and Lyon is on May 25 in Bilbao, Spain.
The Fiorentina vs. Olympiakos final of the Europa Conference League is in Athens on May 29.
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