Get this: Rui Pinto, the Portuguese computer hacker whose leaked documents blew the lid off the Premier League investigation into Manchester City, just got his witness protection extended. Portuguese authorities suspended their decision to boot him from the program, which was supposed to happen tomorrow. This dude, the founder of Football Leaks, was staring down what he called a “life-threatening situation” if he lost that protection, and now the whole thing is back on the table.
Pinto’s Protection Drama and That Massive “Abuse of Power” Claim
Pinto’s situation has been wild from the jump. He jumped into Portugal’s witness protection program back in 2020 after agreeing to spill the beans on all the info he got through Football Leaks. We’re talking a “tranche of confidential football documents,” emails, financial records,the whole nine yards, all related to City. He even shared some of it with German magazine Der Spiegel back in 2018, kicking off investigations into City’s money and alleged breaches of financial fair play.
But then, out of nowhere, the word came down that his protection was ending. Now, Portugal’s Ministry of Justice just reversed that call, saying the special security programs commission didn’t properly tell Pinto *why* they were ending it, or even give him a chance to fight back. Pinto’s not holding back either. He hit up X to thank the Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcao Judice, and absolutely torched the commission’s initial move, calling it a clear violation of the law and a “manifest abuse of power.” He’s getting ten days to look at a risk assessment that says the threat to him is low. We’ll see how he feels about that.
Man City’s Appeal and Pinto’s Shadow
This whole thing is happening with Man City’s own drama bubbling on the side. The club was recently found guilty of all the charges thrown at them for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. Of course, they’re appealing that decision. You can’t separate Pinto’s story from City’s. He’s called himself a whistleblower, but he’s also been convicted in Portugal for stuff like illegal access to data and attempted extortion, getting a four-year suspended sentence. Yet, earlier this year, he was acquitted of 241 counts of illegally accessing email accounts for other Portuguese sports bodies, like Benfica. Remember, this is the guy who wore a bulletproof vest during his first trial in 2020, which had seriously ramped up security.
So, what’s next? Pinto is back in protection for now, and he’s got this risk assessment to go through. But with his “manifest abuse of power” comment still hanging in the air, and Man City fighting for their life on appeal, you gotta wonder how much more of Pinto’s story is going to intertwine with City’s future. This whole saga just keeps getting crazier, and the stakes for everyone involved are through the roof.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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