Pedro Proenca was featured in a promotional video posted on the UEFA web site, where he left a message for younger referees. "Enjoy every moment you have to become better referees. Do not try to cut corners because the success will come naturally", said the Portuguese referee. "If a person has the capacity to be humble, works hard, loves football and believes that refereeing suits their personality, it is possible to get there. One should embrace refereeing, as I did, and be sure that one day the success will come their way", added Proenca.
"Part of being a referee is something that is born with us, but the rest is gained through hard work. Intellectual abilities and mental strength that are acquired through experience, accumulated through refereeing matches", he said. "I am a privileged, but I also put in a lot of effort", says Pedro Proenca, who last year refereed both the Champions League final and the Euro final. He felt that "a good motivation to be a referee is the opportunity to participate in a fantastic spectacle that is football", admitted to being a "privileged", but highlighted his hard work and dedication. "I recognize that today I am privileged within the world of referees, but it was hard work, effort and dedication; having left much behind, I got to where I am", he explained. Proenca said that his inspiration was the old Portuguese referee Victor Correia: "A man I knew, I learned to admire and who taught me what I am now as a referee".
Source: UEFA
Source: UEFA
