Who is Slavko Vincic, today's referee for Arsenal – PSG in the UCL?

Experienced referee Slavko Vincic will take charge of the high-profile Champions League clash between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain todayin his first appearance in the tournament proper since taking charge of the finals last semester.

In June, Vincic became the second Slovenian to referee a Champions League final when he Supervised Real Madrid's 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium. “If I'm honest, when I started refereeing I wasn't sure whether my dreams would extend to the Champions League final. So it's really a big deal,” the 44-year-old told UEFA.com ahead of the showpiece event in London.

Vincic was a final referee for a European club twice

A referee who made his Champions League debut in 2016 – nine years after his stint in the top domestic league – Vincic has now played 31 games in Europe's elite club competitionincluding nine games in the knockout phase. In continental football, he was the man in the middle at the 2022 Europa League final in Seville, where Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers on penalties.

During his career Vincic has crossed paths with PSG and Arsenal once each. He was credited with Paris' 3-0 Champions League group stage win over AC Milan and he took charge of Arsenal's 0-0 draw with Villarreal in the 2020/21 Europa League semi-finals. He received an average of 3.5 yellow cards across the two games – all but one of those warnings came in the French capital – and did not send a player off.

Over the course of his eight years as a Champions League referee Vincic averages just over four yellow cards per gameand has only released three players.

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On the list of referees for Euro 2024

Vincic was in international football a referee at Euro 2020, World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024. This summer he was allowed to play three games in Germany – most notably Spain's 2-1 semi-final victory over France.

In 2020, Vincic also made headlines off the pitch when he was arrested on suspicion of being linked to a prostitution, drug and illegal firearms crime in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, he was released without charge after being cleared of any wrongdoing.

Arsenal vs PSG: start time, how to watch

The Champions League clash between Arsenal and PSG begins at the Emirates Stadium at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT. Viewers in the United States can catch the action on Paramount+ and ViX.

Who are Vincic's assistants for Arsenal vs PSG?

Vincic will lead an almost entirely Slovenian team of officials in north London. Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic will be the assistant referees, and Rade Obrenovic will be the fourth official. The video assistant referee (VAR) will be Nejc Kajtazovicand the only non-Slovenian will be the deputy VAR: Pole Tomasz Kwiatkowski.