Rui Pinto stays in witness protection as Portugal pauses his exit

Rui Pinto, the founder of Football Leaks, will remain in witness protection after Portugal suspended the decision to end his coverage. He was due to leave the programme this Saturday, a step Pinto had warned could place him in “life-threatening situation”.

BBC Sport reports that the Portuguese authorities have reversed the removal for now because the special security programmes commission allegedly did not properly “notify” him of the grounds for ending protection or give him a chance to challenge the decision.

Pinto will now have 10 days to assess a risk report by the commission, which flags a low threat to his safety. On X, he thanked the Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcao Judice, and said the initial decision clearly broke the law, calling it a “manifest abuse of power”.

Pinto, 37, supplied confidential documents that helped trigger investigations involving Manchester City’s finances. In Portugal he was convicted for offences including illegal data access and attempted extortion, receiving a four-year suspended sentence. Earlier in 2026, he was acquitted of 241 counts of illegally accessing email accounts belonging to sports bodies in Portugal, including Benfica.