Pedro Proença explains all at meeting, referees back to work | OneFootball

The referees of professional football agreed to begin work on the first refresher and assessment session for the sector after a meeting with Pedro Proença, president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), held in the early hours of Saturday.

“The president of the Portuguese Football Federation traveled to Tomar to meet with the referees of professional football. During the meeting, he expressed regret over what happened and gave the group the corresponding explanations,” the group of referees from the First and Second Leagues said in a statement seen by Lusa news agency.

The meeting took place three days after audio recordings dated 2024 were released, in which Pedro Proença criticizes the quality of Portuguese refereeing. The two sides also agreed to develop joint work. “It was also agreed to begin serious and structured joint work from next week, with the aim of improving the conditions of Portuguese refereeing,” the statement adds.

In the same statement, the referees of professional football say that, “based on the guarantees presented” by Pedro Proença, the conditions are now in place to begin preparations this morning for the 2026/27 sporting season.

On Friday, the referees of professional football had refused to begin the first refresher and assessment session for the sector, saying they would only move forward if the FPF president publicly retracted the criticism contained in the audio recordings.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.