Slavko Vincic, the referee who took charge of the 2026 World Cup final, has cast his verdict on Argentina captain Lionel Messi’s behaviour during the game against Spain.

While Messi wasn’t involved in the heated post-match altercations that marred the final and prompted a FIFA investigation, the 39-year-old has still received heavy criticism for an incident involving Spain full-back Marc Cucurella.

Messi wanted action taken against Cucurella after the defender, who recently completed a move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, briefly put his hand to his mouth during an interaction with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Cucurella didn’t appear to be speaking to Messi in an aggressive manner, but Argentina’s No. 10 signalled to referee Vincic that an offence had been committed.

Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron and Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie were both shown straight red cards during the World Cup after FIFA implemented a new rule ahead of the tournament to prevent players from insulting opponents while covering their mouths.

No action was taken against Cucurella, despite Messi’s accusations, and the legendary forward has subsequently been blasted for his ‘shameless’ behaviour.

Spain fans have even created petitions calling for Messi to be stripped of the prestigious Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, which he won shortly before the 2026 World Cup got underway.

Slavko Vincic Speaks Out About Messi’s Behaviour

REUTERS/Lee Smith

Vincic, who announced his retirement one week after the World Cup final, has now spoken out about Messi’s conduct during the final.

The former Slovenian match official disagrees with suggestions that Messi showed unsportsmanlike behaviour during the final.

“That conversation will stay on the pitch,” Vincic told reporters, per The Metro.

Per beIN Sports, Vincic emphasised that Messi showed exemplary conduct on the field at all times, respecting his decisions, helping the game flow and displaying self-control even in high-pressure situations.

He added that Messi behaved like a positive leader without excessive protests.

On the final itself, Vincic said: “The burden is great when your entire refereeing career is poured into one match, but I knew that most of the work would be in managing the match… to stop at the right moment or let the action continue.

“The biggest challenge was dealing with the emotions of the football players. This is the World Cup final, the mindsets and reactions are different, but given the importance of the match, we have to understand all of that. The biggest challenge, of course, is somehow managing everything during the match.

“We are trying to study the characteristics of the players, what they do during the break, who commits the most fouls. Of course, it is not possible to prepare completely.

“The match has its own course and within that you try to do your job as well as possible. Within that, you have to decide whether to start with warnings or cards. But it is a kind of automatism that comes from experience during your career. Sometimes you succeed better, sometimes not.

“After the final whistle, we were not too much of a problem, which indicates that we generally did an okay job, so I think the refereeing strategy was right.”

Leeds United have been given some bad news over their hopes of landing a new attacker this summer. The Whites are moving up the gears in their transfer window, looking to add to the signings of Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic, and it looks as though Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford could be next.

Leeds are in talks over a £40million deal, which would be a club record, and a further goalkeeper deal will follow that to add depth to the position. But the Whites also have other areas to take care of as they look to avoid the relegation battle in the coming season, and a further striker is being sought by Farke and the club’s recruitment staff, leading them to a LaLiga star.

Leeds dealt fresh blow in Carlos Espí pursuit

Leeds were said to have been interested in a move for Levante striker Carlos Espí this summer, which has been backed up by local reporter Graham Smyth. The Whites didn’t make any formal approaches, but they are said to have had Espí on their shortlist, with the youngster having emerged as one of the most promising young forwards in Europe.

Espí helped Levante survive the LaLiga drop last season by scoring 11 times in the league, and he is still only 21 years of age. The Valencian region local has played a starring role for Las Granotas, which is why they were charging his full release clause to sell this summer, believed to be £21.4million. A number of clubs have been linked, including Villarreal just up the road, but there is a bigger Spanish fish in the water, and they have trumped all potential rivals to a deal.

It was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano on Thursday evening that Real Madrid have paid the full £21.4million release clause in Espí’s contract to sign him, and with the clubs announcing the deal, only the final details remain to finish off the transfer.

That’s bad news for the Whites, and fatal news as far as their hopes of landing Espí are concerned. Although with the Spanish youngster not likely to get immediate game time at the Bernabeu, a loan deal could be in the offing, something that was not on the table when it came to negotiating with Levante.

Espí was not going be sold for cheap

Reuters / Andrew Yates Livepic

Levante boss Luis Castro admitted earlier this summer that a sale was likely, but that the Valencian side were not going to be selling on the cheap. He said: “Carlos Espí has a great future ahead of him. I understand that the supporters want Espí to stay; I would like that too, but we have to think about the club. Espí will be a normal sale in today’s football because there are hardly any strikers like him.”

Espí was tipped for a Spain senior call-up last season, but he never quite got his chance in the lead up to the World Cup, with Luis de la Fuente prioritising players who were going to be taken to North America. But he is likely to get his call-up next season should he continue his fine form.

FIFA have released a new statement, titled ‘Clarifications on FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, after the backlash over its controversial plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.

UEFA announced on Thursday afternoon that its 55 member associations will boycott World Cups and other FIFA tournaments if the sport’s governing body proceeds with the proposal led by its under-fire president Gianni Infantino.

Meanwhile, the 41 nations of CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) have also rejected Infantino’s plans.

AFC (the Asian Football Confederation) have described the manner in which FIFA attempted to force through the plans as “unacceptable”.

FIFA has set a deadline of September 19 for its 211 member associations to make an instant £15 million ($20 million) instantly if they vote through the plans. An additional £50 million ($66 million) will then be given to each association before 2038.

FIFA Post Fresh Statement Amid Backlsh Over World Cup Plans

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

With the pressure intensifying on Infantino, FIFA’s president since 2016, world football’s governing body have released a fresh statement, insisting: “Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain.”

Posted to X (Twitter), FIFA’s statement reads:

• “FIFA acknowledges and respects feedback and concern aired in public
• “FIFA reaffirms its commitment to an open and democratic consultation
• “Erroneous reporting in the media disrupted planned consultation process

“We have heard the feedback provided by the respective confederations in relation to the proposed establishment of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and would like to address the issues that have surfaced since the initial media reporting on Tuesday.

“We respect the feedback and concern aired in public and reaffirm our commitment to an open and democratic consultation.

⁠”Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports. We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each MA has the ability to express its vote based on facts.

“FFE has been proposed solely to ensure that all FIFA Member Associations (MAs) have the opportunity to take meaningful ownership of the commercial opportunity of football in their respective countries, and that this does not come at the cost of either the spirit or the governance of FIFA or football itself.

“Everyone has the right to express their opposition and to seek further clarification but no single entity can claim to represent all 211 MAs around the world. Each MA should be allowed to review the proposal and have a say in shaping their own future. These are the democratic principles of FIFA.

“As per the proposal:

• “FFE would move FIFA’s commercial and operational event delivery activities into a subsidiary organisation that FIFA would own and control permanently.
• “⁠The commercial value created would be shared among all 211 MAs, enabling each MA to make meaningful investments in football in their respective countries.
• “⁠Under the proposal, each MA would receive USD 20 million of FIFA Forward Development funding over the next four years (2027-2030), irrespective of its individual support.
• “⁠This increased funding would come from the additional revenues generated by FFE through the more effective management of FIFA’s commercial operations, for the benefit of all MAs.
• “⁠The FIFA Fast Forward Programme is a one-off development funding of an additional USD 20 million per MA – participation would be fully voluntary for all MAs should the FFE proposal proceed – and would be financed by external investment without ceding control or altering FIFA’s governance structure in any way.
• “⁠Without the support of the majority of MAs, FIFA’s commercial activities would remain unchanged. FFE would not be established.

“These components represent the starting point of the consultation process and are open for discussion as part of that process. This can include approval, rejection or amendment in their entirety or individually.

These principles underpin the FFE proposal: unprecedented development funding, truly global ownership of the commercial opportunities of our sport, and full self-determination through a democratic process for all MAs.”

Of FIFA’s 211 members, Infantino requires 106 votes in favour for the proposal to go through. UEFA and CONCACAF members combined make up 96 associations.