The Slovenian Football Federation officially announced that 46-year-old Slovenian referee Slavkovincic has officially retired, ending his refereeing career.

This also makes the World Cup final the last match of his career.

A week after the World Cup final in the United States, Slavkovincic officially ended his illustrious and historically significant refereeing career. Hailing from Maribor, he became the first Slovenian referee to officiate a World Cup final, officiating the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, thus solidifying his status as one of the greatest referees of all time. At the end of his farewell season, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) named him the best referee of the tournament, and he also received the prestigious Giulio Campanati Award in Italy.

Slavkovincic was born on November 25, 1979, in Maribor, and joined the international referee list in 2010. During Euro 2012, he officiated as an additional assistant referee, serving with the Slovenian refereeing team in the quarter-final match between Greece and Germany.

In 2013, he officiated in the final stages of the U17 European Championship in Slovakia, reaching the semi-finals. In 2015, he made his European knockout stage debut, refereeing the Europa League Round of 32 match between Guingamp and Dynamo Kyiv. The following year, he officiated the Sparta Prague vs. Krasnodar match in the same stage, and in 2019, he officiated the Rome derby between Lazio and Roma.

At Euro 2016, Venčić again joined the Slovenian refereeing team led by Damir Skomina as an additional assistant referee. That same year, he made his Champions League refereeing debut in the final group stage match between Manchester City and Celtic. Since then, he has frequently officiated in the Champions League and joined the UEFA Elite Referees Group at the end of 2019.

Prior to this, he officiated the 2017 U17 World Cup in India, the 2018 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland, and the 2019 U20 World Cup, also held in Poland.

In 2021, Vencic not only officiated the Champions League quarter-final between Porto and Chelsea, but also the second leg of the Europa League semi-final between Arsenal and Villarreal. That same year, he became one of the 19 referees for Euro 2020, officiating three matches, including the quarter-final between Belgium and Italy.

Vencic officiated Europa League finals in 2017, 2021, and 2022. In the 2017 final between Ajax and Manchester United in Stockholm, he served as an additional assistant referee for the Slovenian refereeing team. In the 2021 final between Manchester United and Villarreal in Gdansk, he served as the fourth official under the French referee Clementipperpin.

On May 18, 2022, he achieved a major honor in his career, officiating Eintracht Frankfurt's Europa League match against Rangers in Seville.