Meanwhile, Venezuelan referee Jesús Valenzuela will take charge of Saturday's third-place playoff between France and England.
The appointments mean that Poland's Szymon Marciniak, who refereed the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, will finish this year's tournament having officiated only two group-stage matches: Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria and Iran's 1-1 draw with Egypt.
Szymon Marciniak. Photo: PAP/Przemysław Karolczuk
Former international referee Marcin Borski told Poland's PAP news agency that FIFA's referee appointments at this year's tournament appeared inconsistent and may have been influenced by political considerations, a factor he said could have cost Marciniak a high-profile knockout assignment.
Borski said officiating in the early stages of the tournament had generally been of a high standard, but argued that performances declined during the knockout rounds, exposing what he described as a growing gap between the quality of refereeing and the level of play.
He criticized the performances of referees from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) in the semifinals and said European officials also struggled in the later stages of the tournament. He pointed to numerous video review reversals and what he described as inconsistent interpretations of the rules.
Borski also criticized FIFA's Referees Committee for what he called a lack of transparency before the tournament, saying match officials received instructions that were not publicly explained and that this led to confusion.
He argued that recent interpretations of the Laws of the Game had failed to protect players adequately and had resulted in inconsistent disciplinary decisions.
Borski also suggested FIFA favored referees from the CONCACAF region because of the confederation's voting influence within world football's governing body.
Despite his criticism of the officiating, Borski said the tournament had produced exciting football, with many closely contested matches decided late.
He added that the expanded 48-team World Cup format appeared likely to remain, arguing that while it has shortcomings, it gives smaller football nations greater opportunities without preventing the strongest teams from reaching the latter stages.
Marciniak, an international referee since 2011, was officiating at his third World Cup after also working at the 2018 tournament in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he took charge of Argentina's victory over France in the final.
He also refereed matches at Euro 2016 in France and Euro 2024 in Germany.
Vinčić, 46, will oversee his first World Cup final. He has officiated three matches at this year's tournament: Brazil against Morocco, Jordan against Algeria, and Mexico against Ecuador. He also refereed the 2024 Champions League final, in which Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0.
Poland failed to qualify for this year's World Cup after losing 2-3 to Sweden in a playoff final in March.
(pu/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP