Rui Pinto, a 34-year-old Portuguese hacker who made shocking revelations through the website “Football Leaks”, has caused a sensation in European football. On Monday (September 11), he was convicted by a court in Lisbon of nine crimes and given a four-year suspended prison sentence.
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The three-judge panel found Rui Pinto guilty of five charges, including unauthorized access to systems , attempted extortion and interception of correspondence to access emails, according to Portuguese media reports.
Pinto was convicted of hacking computers belonging to sports investment fund Doyen, Portugal's attorney general's office and a Lisbon law firm. Judges said there was no evidence that Pinto interfered with a website belonging to the Portuguese football federation.
Pinto's revelations embarrassed sports stars, top clubs and industry figures from 2015 to 2018, prompting official investigations across Europe.
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The website revealed information about the transfer fees and salaries of famous footballers, including Neymar, Radamel Falcao and Gareth Bale. The website also accused teams such as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain of breaking European football's spending rules.
During the trial, Pinto admitted that he was responsible for the information published on the website created in 2015. However, he maintained that he was a source of information and not a lawbreaker. He added: "My job as a whistleblower is over."
He stated that he was acting for the public good and not for personal gain, thus seeking to best serve the public. The court found the defendant guilty of extortion in his dealings with Doyen.
The lawyers argued that Pinto had assisted authorities in Europe and beyond in tackling crime in the sports sector. It was reported that Pinto had provided support to authorities in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Malta in their football investigations.
After his arrest, Pinto was held in Lisbon, where he spent seven months in solitary confinement. He was released after cooperating with police and entering a witness protection program.
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“Football Leaks” is the largest information leak site in football history, revealing a series of investigations that exposed the background of football administration. It exposed secret agreements, illegal intra-club regulations and tax evasion by famous football players. “Football Leaks” is proof that sport, which should be a healthy and fair game, can turn into a struggle for personal gain and power.
