A COURT in Portugal yesterday convicted hacker Rui Pinto over his “Football Leaks” revelations that exposed dodgy dealings in international football, sentencing him to a suspended four-year prison term.

Pinto, 34, had argued that had had kicked off criminal investigations in five European countries, but he was convicted on five counts of “illegitimate access” to IT systems and three counts of “correspondence violations”, along with attempted extortion against the investment fund Doyen Sports.

“On the whole, the facts described (by prosecutors) have been considered proven,” presiding judge Margarida Alves told the court in Lisbon.

“The freedom to inform does not justify violations of privacy,” she said, adding that “it has clearly been established he was hoping to get money.”

Pinto, who was released pending the trial, appeared in court wearing a surgical mask and his trademark outfit of jeans and dark blue shirt.

He had faced a total of 89 counts of hacking offences to secure the documents, which he began leaking in late 2015.

Over the next three years he shared 18.6 million documents on the internet and with a consortium of European newspapers, which published details.

The revelations shook the football world.

They included the salaries of Lionel Messi and Neymar, an accusation of rape against Cristiano Ronaldo, alleged financial sleight of hand at Manchester City and ethnic profiling at Paris Saint Germain. – AFP, September 12, 2023.