Manchester City was handed two years champions League by UEFA after they were accused of violating the financial
fair play rules. It was revealed that there was a man who leaked an email that revealed the Premier League defending
champion’s financial shortcomings which got them banned.
Who is Rui Pinto?
Rui Pinto is a Portuguese hacker who worked out of his modest home under a fictitious description.
Pinto spend three years sending confidential information in 70million documents from top club officials to German
magazine Der Spiegel.
Pinto – who worked under the name John – is claimed to have got hold of 70 million documents and 3.4 terabytes of
information, including personal emails.
He sat down with Der Spiegel, where he leaked a lot of this info, in December last year, in a tell-all interview about
his time inside.
Pinto is currently in a Lisbon jail and awaiting trial for his alleged crimes.
His revelations sent shockwaves through the world after he gained access to club emails and handing them to the
media.
His first leak led to Dutch side FC Twente receiving a three-year ban from European football by the Dutch FA.
The leak exposed Twente’s failure to reveal full details of a third-party ownership contract with Malta-based Doyen
Sports Investments.
It was Rui’s action that has forced Uefa into the unprecedented ban for the Etihad side, while also fining them nearly
£25m.
The Football Leaks scandal has seen the 31-year-old sent to prison, where he remains to this day awaiting a court
case for his alleged crimes. He was living in Hungary at the time but he was eventually tracked down. He was denied
an appeal and will face trial for 90 different counts after exposing topsides and players from around Europe. Pinto,
who is accused of hacking sabotage and fraud, has been in jail since March 2019 while awaiting a verdict by the
Lisbon
Court of Appeal. Though Pinto didn’t see himself as a hacker but rather a citizen so acted in the Public interest.
Pinto said: “I don’t consider myself as a hacker, but a citizen who acted for the public interest.
“My sole intention was to reveal illicit practices that affect the world of football.”
Pinto is still awaiting a date for his trial.