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Slavko Vincic stands among Europe's elite football referees, having overseen the 2024 Champions League final. Several years ago, though, he unwittingly found himself embroiled in a police operation targeting a sex party after an invite to a business lunch was followed by a surprise interruption.

Vincic returns to officiate one of this week's marquee fixtures as Newcastle United head to France to take on Paris Saint-Germain. It is his sixth league phase match this season, with others including Liverpool's triumph in Marseille and Chelsea's 3-0 win at home to Barcelona.

In May 2020, the Slovenian official was attending a business engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina in relation to a business he operates separate to his refereeing role when he accepted an invitation to lunch. However, while he and others with him thought they were simply grabbing some food, they were detained during the police operation targeting unrelated parties at the venue they had chosen for their meal.

Vincic was subsequently released and exonerated, with no wrongdoing found on his part. Reports from The Sun at the time indicated that a person identified as Tijana Maksimovic was apprehended on allegations of running a prostitution ring.

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"During the search of the house and vehicles used by the suspects, 14 packages of cocaine, 10 pistols, three suits of body armour, over 10,000 euros in various currencies, phones and laptops were found and seized," local authorities were reported as saying.

Later, the Mail reported Maksimovic entered a guilty plea in 2021 to a charge of international enticement to prostitution. Referee Vincic was released following police questioning as a witness, with no indication of his involvement in any criminal activity.

"I found myself on this ranch by chance. I have my own company, I was in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a business meeting," Vincic told Slovenian outlet Vecer, as translated by the Mail. "I accepted an invitation to lunch, which turned out to be my biggest mistake. I regret it.

"I was sitting at a table with my company, all of a sudden the police came and what happened, happened. I have nothing to do with the group that was arrested and detained, nor do my business partners. Yes, they really took us to the police, asked as witnesses, when it turned out that we didn't even know them, we were able to go."

Vlado Sajn, head of the Association of Football Referees of Slovenia, called the episode "a web of unfortunate circumstances." In the years since the incident, Vincic has gone on to oversee prestigious football fixtures, most notably the 2024 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

He was also in charge of three fixtures during that summer's European Championships, including Spain's semi-final triumph over France. This marked his third major international tournament, having previously officiated three matches at Euro 2020 and two at the 2022 World Cup - including England's group stage victory over Wales.

Wednesday's fixture will mark his first in charge of Newcastle, though he officiated two PSG matches last season. Interestingly, both involved Arsenal - a group stage loss for the French side in October 2024 and a semi-final triumph at the Emirates Stadium in April 2025.

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