Four lawyers representing whistleblower Rui Pinto claim are now filing an appeal days after Manchester City were found guilty of 100-plus Premier League charges
Rui Pinto speaks during a meeting with journalists
Rui Pinto has benefited from a special security programme for six years(Image: THOMAS SAMSON, AFP via Getty Images)
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Rui Pinto has branded the decision to strip him of witness protection as an outrageous act by the Portuguese State.
Pinto, 37, and his lawyers have issued a press release urging Portuguese authorities to reconsider their ruling. The whistleblower leaked documents that triggered an investigation into Manchester City over breaching UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and contributed to their Premier League charges.
He has been enrolled in a special security programme since August 2020. However, the hacker has now been informed that he is due to lose his protected, confidential residence and potentially his police protection on 10 October.
Pinto's four lawyers - Francisco Teixeira da Mota, Luisa Teixeira da Mota, Vincent Brengarth and William Bourdon - say: "In a few days, without being heard beforehand, as required by law, he would lose the protected, confidential residence assigned to him and be forced to find new housing urgently, with no guarantee that police protection will continue.
"His situation is now critical. The threats against him are not merely theoretical; he was assaulted in Lisbon last April.
"His revelations implicated powerful figures with vast resources, and many resulting legal proceedings are still ongoing, as evidenced by the decision handed down just days ago by the Premier League's independent commission regarding Manchester City.
"Abruptly deprived of his protected housing and plunged into a state of extreme precariousness, Rui Pinto would be more vulnerable now than at any time since 2020. Rui Pinto has cooperated with the Portuguese justice system, and it was this cooperation that justified placing him under protection.
"His revelations, utilised by numerous judicial, tax, and sports authorities across Europe, starting with France, have advanced transparency and integrity in football. The states that have benefited from his actions cannot simply turn their backs on the person who took the risk to bring them to light.
"In accordance with the law, an administrative appeal with suspensive effect will be filed against this decision.
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"Rui Pinto's lawyers, confident that the Portuguese authorities would give due consideration to his situation, asked, last Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice to reconsider this decision, to disclose the details of the risk reassessment upon which it is based, to ensure that their client is heard, and to guarantee, in any event, the continuity of his protection.
"No answer was received till now.
"This decision and the way it was made, regrettably, doesn't respect the rule of law and constitutes an act of state terrorism. We can't accept that."