Qatar’s Khamis al-Marri has been named as part of the officiating team for the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Argentina and Spain, scheduled for Sunday at the New York New Jersey Stadium. Al-Marri will serve as the support video assistant referee (support VAR) in the match, which is expected to draw significant global attention.

The final’s main referee is Slovenia’s Slavko Vincic, who will be making history as the first Slovenian official to oversee the tournament’s decisive game. Vincic, 46, is one of the sport’s most experienced referees, with a distinguished record including appointments at UEFA Euro 2020 and 2024, the 2022 UEFA Europa League final, and the 2024 UEFA Champions League final. He officiated multiple matches during this World Cup and called the semi-final between France and Spain at Euro 2024. Vincic described the appointment as an “incredible honour” and a “dream come true.”

Supporting Vincic on the field will be fellow Slovenians Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic, while Jordanian officials Adham Makhadmeh and Mohammad al-Kalaf will serve as the fourth official and reserve assistant referee, respectively.

In addition to Al-Marri’s role as support VAR, Germany’s Bastian Dankert has been appointed as the main video assistant referee, with Colombian official Nicolas Gallo serving as the assistant VAR. Al-Marri has previously operated as VAR during the group stage of the tournament, notably in the match between Portugal and DR Congo, where he worked alongside an all-Qatari officiating crew led by Abdulrahman Al Jassim.

FIFA emphasized that the selection of the referees and VAR officials for the final was based primarily on their performances throughout the tournament, with consistent displays of proficiency and fairness cited as key factors. The final is set to take place in front of a capacity crowd of 82,500 spectators at the New York New Jersey Stadium, marking one of the most anticipated fixtures of the competition.