Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has raised concerns about the appointment of referee Slavko Vincic for Sunday's World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, warning that the official must not allow Argentina's tactical gamesmanship to go unpunished.
Referee under scrutiny
Vincic, 46, from Slovenia, was confirmed earlier this week to officiate the showdown. He previously took charge of Argentina's 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where several contentious decisions favored the underdogs. De la Fuente expressed confidence that Vincic's past performance would not influence his decisions, but he emphasized the need for the referee to be firm against Argentina's provocative tactics.
Throughout the tournament, Lionel Scaloni's Argentina side has been accused of employing dark arts to sway referees. Critics also point to a favorable draw that limited travel and avoided extreme conditions faced by other teams.
De la Fuente's warning
'The referee cannot act passively and allow the rules to be broken,' De la Fuente told Sport. 'Those lines of footballing legality cannot be crossed. I have unwavering faith in the referees, but I also have unwavering faith that we clearly know what kind of match we need to approach.'
England and Egypt struggled to maintain composure against Argentina's provocation, and De la Fuente stressed that Spain must focus on their own footballing principles. 'They're going to play their football, but we have to focus solely and exclusively on our own, on strengthening our style and improving it. If we stray from our philosophy and our model, we will suffer. We feel comfortable in the football arena, in the game, in being true to our idea, in not falling for provocations,' he said.
Messi factor
De la Fuente also addressed the challenge of stopping Lionel Messi, who may be playing his final international match. Recalling a past encounter, De la Fuente said, 'I met Messi when I was coaching Sevilla's youth teams. We were 0-0 when they gave a card to the player marking him. They scored four on us in 15 minutes.'
Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez dismissed claims of an easy path to the final. 'We didn't choose our opponents. We had to face Portugal in the quarterfinals, but Colombia dominated against Portugal. Switzerland beat Colombia, and we ended up playing Switzerland,' he said.
