It has been revealed that the FIFA-appointed referee to officiate at the World Cup final was arrested in a “sex party” raid involving drugs and prostitution, a report says.
Slovenia’s Slavko Vincic, who was chosen to referee the final World Cup match between Argentina and Spain, was arrested in 2020 in the Bosnian city of Bijeljina, court records reveal.
At the time, police raided a sex party and took nine women and 26 men into custody. They also reported finding four packets of cocaine, 10 guns, three bulletproof vests, and nearly $11,500 in cash in the building, according to the New York Post.
Ultimately, Vincic was released and not charged. He was later classified as a witness to the crimes, not a participant.
After his arrest, Vincic told the media he was at the scene “by chance” and was only in the area for a business meeting.
“I accepted an invitation to lunch, which turned out to be my biggest mistake. I regret it. I was sitting at a table with my company, all of a sudden, the police came and what happened, happened,” he said at the time.
“I have nothing to do with the group that was arrested and detained, nor do my business partners. Yes, they really took us to the police, asked us as witnesses, when it turned out that we didn’t even know them, we were able to go,” Vincic insisted.
Vlado Saijn, president of the Association of Football Referees of Slovenia, stated the incident and defended the ref.
“He found himself in this place at the wrong time. He was invited to a party where there was a large group of people – he did not know the vast majority,” Saijn said. “I consider this story to be a web of unfortunate circumstances.
Vincic has officiated at three of this year’s World Cup games: Brazil’s draw with Morocco, Algeria’s win over Jordan, and Mexico’s victory against Ecuador.
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