Portuguese authorities have suspended a decision to remove Rui Pinto, the whistleblower whose leaked football documents helped trigger a Premier League investigation into Manchester City, from witness protection.
Pinto, 37, was scheduled to leave the programme on Saturday but had described the decision as a threat to his life.
The founder of Football Leaks released confidential football documents, including emails and financial records relating to Manchester City, which came under scrutiny over alleged breaches of financial fair play rules.
In 2018, Pinto shared the documents with German magazine Der Spiegel, which used them to investigate the club’s finances and alleged violations of financial regulations.
Manchester City have faced charges relating to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
The club has appealed against the decision referenced in the report.
Pinto joined Portugal’s witness protection programme in 2020 after agreeing to cooperate with authorities and provide information obtained through the Football Leaks operation.
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On Friday, Portugal’s Ministry of Justice said the decision to remove him from the programme had been suspended because the special security programmes commission failed to adequately notify him of the reasons for the termination or give him an opportunity to challenge it.
The ministry said Pinto would be given 10 days to examine a risk assessment conducted by the commission, which indicated that the threat to his safety was low.
Pinto thanked Portugal’s Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, in a post on X. He said the commission’s initial decision violated the law and amounted to a “manifest abuse of power”.
Although Pinto has described himself as a whistleblower, he was convicted in Portugal of offences including illegal access to data and attempted extortion. He received a four-year suspended sentence.
He wore a bulletproof vest during his first trial in 2020, which was held under heightened security measures.
Earlier in 2026, Pinto was acquitted of 241 counts of illegally accessing email accounts belonging to several Portuguese sports organisations, including Benfica.
BBC News
