Rui Pinto to lose witness protection as Portugal rules threat is low

Rui Pinto, the 37-year-old whistleblower behind the Football Leaks files, is due to lose his protected-witness status in Portugal on 10 October. Al Jazeera

Pinto is believed to be the mastermind behind Football Leaks. He leaked tens of millions of documents, a vast store of confidential football paperwork. The first claims about Manchester City rule breaches drawn from those files surfaced in November 2018. City were found guilty days before 2 October, according to Reuters.

He has lived under protection since 2020. That followed an agreement to give Portuguese investigators access to millions of files gathered before his arrest. He also handed millions of documents to investigators in France. A protected witness, in plain terms, is someone given security measures because evidence they hold is thought to put them at risk.

Portugal’s special security programmes commission, known as the CPES, oversees that protection. It met on 8 and 9 July to consider his case. It ruled the threat against him was low. It decided special measures were no longer warranted, The Guardian reported.

Pinto was told of that decision on 30 September. That is 83 days after the July meeting. It left him with 10 days’ notice before expiry. His lawyers first confirmed the end of his participation in the programme in a statement on Friday 2 October.

His lawyer, Francisco Teixeira da Mota, said an appeal would be filed that week. Portugal’s justice minister, Rita Alarcão Júdice, said authorities would review the case. She promised a response by the Saturday his protection ends.

The CPES did not respond to questions about how it reached its view or why notification took 83 days. That gap is now central to the dispute. Ten days is a short window to challenge a decision about personal safety.

Pinto remains willing to cooperate with British authorities in the Manchester City case and other inquiries linked to his material. He has held that position throughout his time under protection.

For supporters, this is not about points or tactics. It is about how football polices itself. Leaks can start cases that run for years. Witnesses carry the risk long after the headlines fade. That balance now faces a fresh test.