Man City whistleblower loses Portugal's witness protection
Football Leaks informant Rui Pinto says he has been removed from Portugal's witness protection programme and must now live in hiding over fears of an assassination attempt. The move comes as legal cases stemming from his leaks, including one against Manchester City, remain unresolved.
Rui Pinto, the Portuguese whistleblower behind the Football Leaks revelations, says his participation in the country's witness protection programme was terminated on 10 October. In a post on X, he described the decision as putting him in a "life-threatening situation."
The 37-year-old said he has received multiple death threats and faces a serious risk of an assassination attempt, leaving him no choice but to move to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period. BBC Sport has contacted Portugal's Commission for the Protection of Victims of Crimes for comment.
Pinto entered the witness protection scheme in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with authorities and hand over files obtained through the Football Leaks operation. While he has characterised himself as a whistleblower, he was convicted in Portugal of offences including illegal access to data and attempted extortion, receiving a four-year suspended sentence. He wore a bulletproof vest during his first trial in 2020, which was held under heightened security. Earlier this year he was acquitted in a separate trial of 241 charges related to illegally accessing email accounts belonging to several Portuguese sports organisations, including Benfica.
On Wednesday, Pinto turned his criticism toward FIFA president Gianni Infantino, describing him as having "become a cancer on football" and saying he should have no future role in the sport. He repeated claims first made in 2018 that Infantino had intervened to help Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain avoid financial fair play sanctions from UEFA.
A statement from Pinto's lawyers said that ending his witness protection leaves him at heightened risk, noting that legal proceedings linked to the leaks, including the case against Manchester City, are still ongoing. Pinto has launched a fundraising campaign to help him cope with what he describes as a situation created by the Portuguese state.
