Vinnerborg played hockey for
IF Troja/Ljungby, and in 1986, he represented
Småland in
TV-pucken. He began his officiating career at
minor hockey-level in 1987 after having quit playing ice hockey. He was a linesman at
Allsvenskan-level for several years before he decided to take the referee education, In 2006, Vinnerborg officiated at the
2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in
Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada, where he was selected as the referee for the bronze medal game between Finland and USA. He was then selected to officiate at the
2006 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in
Riga,
Latvia, where he officiated until the semifinals started. Vinnerborg and
Thomas Andersson became Elitserien's first professional referees prior to the
2006–07 season. He was again selected to go the World Championship in
2007, and he was selected to officiate the final between Canada and Finland. Vinnerborg together with
Brent Reiber officiated the
2008 IIHF European Champions Cup final between
HC Sparta Prague and
Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the tournament was one of three trials of the
four-man official system which later was introduced at the
Ice Hockey World Championships. Vinnerborg was awarded
Guldpipan as Elitserien's premier referee during the
2007–08 season, as voted by the player. After receiving the award prior to game three of the 2008 Swedish Championship final between
Linköping HC and
HV71, Vinnerborg faced controversy after making a critical error when not awarding a penalty to Linköping HC, after HV71's defenceman
Johan Åkerman had intentionally shot a broken stick at the puck while being shorthanded. Linköping's coach
Janne Karlsson criticised the league since the four-man official system was not in use during the finals. For the third consecutive year Vinnerborg was selected to officiate at the World Championship, in
2008 held in Canada on
NHL-sized rinks. Vinnerborg and fellow Swede
Christer Lärking were selected to officiate the gold medal game between Russia and Canada, making it Vinnerborg's second consecutive final appearance. They stood for a controversial but correct puck out penalty on Canada's
Rick Nash in overtime, which led to
Ilya Kovalchuk scoring the championship winning goal on the man advantage that followed. Vinnerborg suffered an injury to his neck and head after a collision with
HV71's
Mattias Tedenby during a pre-season game in 2008, which led to him missing the start of the
2008–09 season. On 30 September 2008, during a game between hosts
SC Bern and the
New York Rangers, Vinnerborg and
Don Koharski became the first tandem of
National Hockey League (NHL) and IIHF referees in an international event. In May 2010, the NHL announced that Vinnerborg would be joining the NHL's officiating staff for the
2010–11 season, as the first European-trained NHL official. He will primarily be assigned to games in the
American Hockey League (AHL) with some work at the NHL level. "His knowledge of the North American game and his work ethic and professionalism will make him a positive addition to the NHL staff," said league director of officials
Terry Gregson. He worked his first game in the NHL on November 16, 2010, a 2–1 win for the
Dallas Stars over the visiting
Anaheim Ducks. ==Personal life==