'Football Leaks' ruling postponed for hacker Rui Pinto

A court in Portugal has postponed its ruling for hacker Rui Pinto, who is on trial for accessing and releasing private documents that formed the "Football Leaks."

The ruling, originally scheduled for April 28, was pushed back to July 13 on Friday because of a change in facts in the case and to allow more witnesses to be called.

Pinto's lawyer said after the hearing on Friday that it was foreseeable that his client would ultimately be convicted, national newspaper Publico reported. 

What was Pinto charged with?

Pinto is on trial for 89 hacking offenses. His victims included top Portuguese football club Sporting, investment fund Doyen Sports, the Portuguese Football Federation, a law firm and magistrates of the Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office.

He has also been charged with attempted extortion, a crime punishable by between two and 10 years in prison.

The 34-year-old hacker was arrested in Budapest in 2019 and was extradited back to Portugal to face trial in 2020.

He previously told the court he was "outraged" by what he saw in the documents and that this prompted him to release them online as the "Football Leaks."

What was the 'Football Leaks' release?

The "Football Leaks" is a trove of 18.6 million documents that shed light on questionable practices involving football stars, their clubs and their agents.

Pinto released the files online in 2015 and they were subsequently picked up by several European news outlets including Germany's Der Spiegel.

The revelations led to several clients of Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes being investigated for tax evasion, including Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended up paying several million euros to the Spanish tax authorities in 2019.

They also revealed a complaint of rape filed against Ronaldo. The complaint was later dismissed by a court in the US state of Nevada in 2022.

Other Mendes clients who were investigated for tax evasion include coach Jose Mourinho, striker Radamel Falcao and winger Angel Di Marian.

The "Football Leaks" documents also indicated that Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain may not have complied with financial fair play rules, and revealed secret meetings between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and former Swiss federal prosecutor Michael Lauber, who lost his job after the talks became public.

Pinto says he was also behind the "Luanda Leaks," a trove of 715,000 emails, contracts, audits and other documents that explain how Isabel dos Santos — daughter of late Angolan dictator Jose dos Santos — built a business empire and became the richest woman in Africa.

zc/msh (LUSA, AFP)