Whistleblower Rui Pinto, who brought Manchester City’s wrongdoing to light with his investigation, will receive witness protection from the Portuguese government for a longer period.
Pinto was to have lost his protection this weekend.
This was reported by The Guardian.
Pinto possesses a great deal of important information in the Manchester City case, including details about documents, individuals, and companies involved in the City affair.
Furthermore, he is said to possess material that may have been overlooked during previous investigations.
Manchester City were found guilty two weeks ago by an independent commission of more than one hundred violations of Premier League rules.
The club have since announced that they will appeal.
“Rui Pinto remains under witness protection for the time being, after the Portuguese authorities suspended the decision to end this protection,” reported The Guardian.
However, the hacker is not yet completely safe.
‘The Special Security Programmes (CPES) acknowledged that he should have been given the opportunity to present his case before the decision was taken.
“The Manchester City whistleblower can now appeal against the withdrawal of his protection, and the committee is expected to review the case again.”
The founder of the website Football Leaks had already indicated that he feared for his life should witness protection not be extended.
He had already started a crowdfunding campaign and even asked the authorities of the United Kingdom for protection in exchange for help against Manchester City. This is now no longer necessary.
Pinto’s revelations previously led to a condemnation of Manchester City in 2019, at the time by UEFA.
The club were set to be barred from playing European football, but that penalty was ultimately reduced.
Nevertheless, his findings proved to be of such importance that, after a lengthy investigation, the Premier League managed to establish 114 financial violations.
