• Pedro Proença has been on the rise in European refereeing circles since taking charge of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final in 2004. He achieved UEFA Premier referee status in January 2007 but had been a fixture on the international scene for some time, enjoying regular outings in UEFA's two high-profile club competitions since making his UEFA Champions League group stage debut on matchday one of the 2007/08 campaign.

• A financial director from Pinhal Novo, Proença enjoys skiing in his spare time along with a love of reading and writing.

• Notable matches include the 2007 and 2010 Portuguese Cup finals, and he also ran the rule over two FC Porto successes in the domestic Super Cup in August 2003 and 2006.

• Proença took charge of two UEFA EURO 2008 qualifiers and was at the 2009 European U21 Championship, overseeing three games as a referee and acting as fourth official in Germany's 4-0 final defeat of England.

• Promoted to UEFA's Elite category at the start of 2009/10, he oversaw four games in that season's UEFA Champions League group stage and five in the 2010/11 competition. The next season brought six more UEFA Champions League engagements, ending with the final between FC Bayern München and Chelsea FC in Munich, and there was another high point to come at UEFA EURO 2012, where he oversaw four matches culminating in the Spain-Italy final.