Rui Pinto, whose leaks of private documents helped to trigger the Premier League’s investigation into Manchester City’s financial affairs, will no longer be a protected witness by the Portuguese authorities, it can be revealed. The removal of the whistleblower’s protection was decided on Wednesday, according to documents seen by the Guardian.
Pinto has also been advised to “exercise caution with family contacts” and avoid social media. The 37-year-old, who is the man behind the website Football Leaks, has been a protected witness since 2020, after agreeing to grant Portuguese authorities access to millions of files gathered prior to his arrest.
The Portuguese police have deemed the risk to Pinto’s safety to be low, despite an assault on him in Lisbon in April and the ongoing fallout from the City investigation. It is understood that Pinto was left with a bruised eyebrow after the incident and the police were informed, although no complaint was filed.
Pinto was handed a suspended four-year sentence in September 2023 after being found guilty on counts of attempted extortion, illegal access to data and breach of correspondence. But he has been hailed as a hero by some supporters for exposing millions of confidential documents linked to some of the biggest clubs, players and organisations in world football. That included providing information concerning City’s finances, which was passed to the German publication Der Spiegel and its partners in the European Investigative...
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