Rui Pinto, the whistleblower behind the leaked Manchester City emails, has condemned a decision to remove his police protection, saying he fears he is in grave danger. Pinto branded the move to strip him of witness protection as an outrageous act by the Portuguese State, in the week following the ruling that found the Blues guilty on most of the charges against them.
Pinto, 37, is the journalist behind the leaked documents that triggered an investigation into City over breaches of UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and contributed to their Premier League charges. His lawyers have issued a press release urging Portuguese authorities to reconsider their ruling after it was decided that he will lose his protected, confidential residence and potentially his police protection on October 10.
Protection set to end
He has been enrolled in a special security programme since August 2020, but the protection is set to end just after Manchester City launched an appeal against their guilty ruling. Pinto's lawyers - Francisco Teixeira da Mota, Luisa Teixeira da Mota, Vincent Brengarth and William Bourdon - said: "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."
Lawyers urge reconsideration
"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."
GoFundMe launched
Pinto's lawyers, confident that the Portuguese authorities would give due consideration to his situation, asked the Ministry of Justice last Wednesday to reconsider the decision, disclose the details of the risk reassessment upon which it is based, ensure their client is heard, and guarantee 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," they said.
Pinto has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund moving somewhere secret, with a goal of reaching €3 million (£2.5 million). He writes: "On 30th September 2026, just hours after the verdict officially confirming Manchester City's guilt, the Commission responsible for Portugal's witness protection programme informed me of its decision to terminate my participation in the programme and withdraw my police protection, thereby knowingly placing me in a life-threatening situation."
"Given these circumstances, I have no alternative but to relocate, within the next few days, to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time, due to the multiple death threats I have received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me. For this reason, I have just set up a GoFundMe campaign and I am asking for everyone's support to help me survive this serious situation created by the Portuguese State, which, as I have already stated, has knowingly decided to place my life at risk."
