Football whistleblower Pinto keeps police protection despite Man City criticism
A cold morning at the Lisbon Ministry of Justice, where the phone rings incessantly, forms the backdrop in which football whistleblower Pinto is once again promised police protection – a step that, after a planned withdrawal from the special programme on October 10, has now been officially reversed.
Decision of the Ministry of Justice
The Portuguese Ministry of Justice had originally decided to end the security measures for the whistleblower on October 10. According to the newspaper A Bola, this decision was overturned due to procedural errors, so the special programme continues.
Pinto, the man behind Football Leaks, had publicly emphasized that he was being “willfully placed in a life‑threatening situation.” He reported numerous death threats and a serious risk of an assassination attempt on his life.
Contents of the Protection Programme
The protection programme includes documents with false identities, free transportation and a maintenance allowance. Since August 2020, Pinto has been benefiting from these services after being released from pre‑trial detention and having pledged his cooperation with the Portuguese authorities.
In 2023, Rui Pinto was sentenced in Portugal to four years of probationary imprisonment for unauthorized access to IT systems, violation of communication secrecy and attempted extortion. Shortly thereafter, a Parisian court sentenced him to six months of probationary imprisonment because he had gained access to the e‑mail accounts of three officials of Paris Saint‑Germain.
Consequences for Manchester City
Since 2015, the platform Football Leaks has repeatedly published confidential documents from the international football and offshore banking sectors. The revelations triggered investigations against Manchester City, which were found guilty on all 115 charges by an independent Premier League commission.
Manchester City now faces harsh penalties, ranging from the revocation of several league titles to a forced relegation. The club has lodged a timely appeal, while the proceedings, which address offences between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, have been ongoing since 2023.