Portuguese referee Pedro Proença will blow the whistle in Thursday’s clash between Spain and Ireland. Proença made waves in May when he was selected to referee the Champions League final that saw Chelsea defeat Bayern Munich. Acknowledged as the best Portuguese referee in the game, he has worked his way up the ladder over the last eight years after overseeing his first international matches in the 2004-05 season. Last year, Proença refereed eight matches in the Champions and Europa leagues, giving out 39 yellows and two red cards.

Image: ASF