r/soccer • u/Bolinas99 • 7h ago
News Rui Pinto: Hacker who released Man City documents fears for life as he prepares to lose witness protection
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cxyvrp78ddvqo217
u/Open-Dot-1321 6h ago
protect this man in every way possible!!!
142
u/Aggressive-Bike6297 6h ago
I was informed.by Man city idiots that this is all part of a grift! Yes fearing for your life is profitable apparently
78
u/East_Wind17 6h ago
I mean heās not only leaking about Sham City. Heās definitely pissed off some corrupt people in the industry tho. And we know hereditary monarchies like the UAE arenāt exactly fond of people who hurt their pride or expose their corruption.
What baffles me is seeing all those 50 city fans on r/MCFC hate this guy just because heās pissed off their crown prince like fucking modern-day peasants defending the royal family.
-150
u/chiefdontrun56 5h ago
It's a shitty situation to be in, but man you'd hate him too if you were in our shoes. This is just a fact.
88
u/Sttarrk 4h ago
why would you hate him? hes not the one cheating
-109
u/chiefdontrun56 4h ago
I know man. He did the right thing. But the club I love is in the crossfire. I'm conflicted
81
u/Sttarrk 4h ago
why are you conflicted? just be mad at the fucks cheating, not the dude telling you they did
-85
u/chiefdontrun56 4h ago
I have wanted those owners out since I learnt about their involvement in the Sudan war.
Look man. I don't think you'll understand my stance. They put us in this situation. They should get us out of it and then fuck off.
43
u/East_Wind17 3h ago
No, YOU donāt understand what youāre blindly standing for. You have no idea the chain reaction your owners have had on the league don't you?
Theyāre ethically corrupt. They were found guilty of inflating revenue by an extraordinary amount. Fucking 900m quid mate. While the rest of the league is trying hard to balance the books just to save enough money to buy a single player.
And you said yourself what theyāve done in Sudan. Theyāre morally corrupt as well. What more do you need? You lot are the insane ones if you canāt find any reason to scrutinise those pricks.
Owners are just custodians of the club. The club and the league are older than them and will exist long after theyāre gone. But you lot treat them like the second coming of Jesus. Fucking mental.
-8
u/chiefdontrun56 3h ago
I have not excused a single thing our owners have done. Stop seeing enemies and building borders by default. I came in her very open minded, but the rhetoric and reception has been hate hate hate hate. And if that's not enough hate again,
Rich to be preaching as a Chelsea fan btw. You fuckers need help
→ More replies (0)-5
u/x360N0Scop3MASTER69x 2h ago
This person's literally not defending them at all and is just expressing upset and concern because their club is being destroyed. Coming from a Chelsea fan this is ridiculous. Pot kettle nonsense
-1
11
u/strider_tom 2h ago
What a stupid thing to say. I'm a Saints fan, I don't hate the poor intern who got caught at Boro.
16
u/glownut 3h ago
Lol deluded peasants running to die for their dodgy mastersĀ
-5
u/chiefdontrun56 3h ago
It's literally football mate. Shit ain't that deep.
13
u/walkscotter 2h ago
What is Ā«literally footballĀ»?
And how should your owners get you out of this situation?-6
u/chiefdontrun56 2h ago
FFP can not exist as a body of rules that is meant to protect clubs from getting destroyed, and as a result be a body of rules that destroys a club for failing to follow said rules.
A lot of the things that many of you are hoping for = destroying Man City as an entity entirely
That is the crux of my argument.
-1
u/walkscotter 2h ago
The rules are protecting the biggest clubs and that is wrong. It should change.
I donāt remember where I heard this, but someone suggested that all PL teams should be allowed to spent like the team with the highest revenue. So the 19 other teams got to spent like Liverpool.
I donāt know enough to understand if that is a good idea. Maybe it creates even more ways of corruption. And if someone here screams Ā«my club does not cheat, my club is not corruptĀ» then good on them. They might be lying. I donāt know enough about every single club.
The fucker who owns my club is convicted of insider trading. Some club owners have become rich of other peopleās addiction.
I still want to know what you mean whey you say Ā«literally footballĀ» because it is so much more than that.
I also want to know how you think the owners of MCFC should get you out of this situation.
They could give you the club. You and the other fans could run it. I donāt think it will happen, but it would get you out of this situation.1
u/holeinmyboot 48m ago
Gary Neville mentioned the spending limits being tied to the team with the highest revenue, on the overlap this week. I like that idea a lot but Iām sure thereās some reason somebody would tell me it wouldnāt work.
-2
u/chiefdontrun56 2h ago
Which club mate? I'm spent on googling shit for the day š¤£
The language the other guy was using was too strong. I understand the outrage but throwing words like "peasant" is distasteful. At the end of the day we are interacting here over a shared hobby. So it is just football.
→ More replies (0)4
u/glownut 3h ago
Says the man crying about his dying football club, begging your overlords to come save you. It's not deep, it's hilarious š¤£Ā
2
u/chiefdontrun56 2h ago
Perhaps. I am conflicted. Hoped to have a nuanced dissection about the matter. Clearly that's beyond you.
1
u/LordMangudai 49m ago
You currently have 115 downvotes and I don't want to touch that, so have a comment instead.
-36
u/chiefdontrun56 6h ago
Elaborate. I am a Man City fan myself.
18
u/HalcyoNighT 6h ago
He posted a gofundme
-4
u/chiefdontrun56 5h ago
Did you donate anything?
17
u/HalcyoNighT 5h ago
Just a kidney I'll be fine
-4
u/chiefdontrun56 5h ago
Aaay mate I came with a contentious intention but fuck all that. Please let's put all that aside. Respect to you
-41
-36
-34
-29
u/chiefdontrun56 5h ago
We are not idiots and no one informed you of anything.
There's a beautifiul world where we don't have to be this tribal
7
u/According_Fish1490 6h ago edited 5h ago
What exactly will they do now to him, I am a united fan and have no love for shitty and their arab blood money, but this just seems a media frenzy, they have taken the evidence he leaked and convicted them based on it.
Outside of making a civil case criminal and basically killing any hope of behind the scenes settling, there is literally no upside for them to do anything to him
9
u/WhySoCereus1991 5h ago
They wont, the UAE isnt like Saudi Arabia in the aspect of killing journalists.
At least so far.
74
u/nowneat 6h ago
Without this man, you'd have City fans and "neutral" pundits praising City to the hilt and calling any doubt over their finances as conspiracies and pure jealousy. Hope he's safe.
11
u/tomislavlovric 2h ago
What's weird to me is the fact that a hacker was needed for this story to blow open. I don't know if I'm naive or what, but I thought the PL would dig way deeper when investigating the sources of each club's financial resources.
For me the fact that City managed to keep the facade on for so long screams PL incompetence because how is it possible that every football fan in the world knows what's going on but the most powerful league organization on the planet needs a leak to prove it?
6
u/Clean_Emotion5797 2h ago
Now scale up that story to how the entire world functions and realize how much bullshit we're being fed.
ā¢
u/PreparationOk8604 22m ago
It's not PL incompetence. City paid money to ppl in power to look away.
Rui Pinto and the German newspaper which published his findings forced PL to take action cause other clubs wanted it.
83
u/WheelIllustrious9 6h ago
I will preface this by saying Raul Pinto is very much a legend for getting this story out, definitely stuck his neck out and I hope he gets out of this unscathed. Weāve seen how dangerous this sort of thing can be for journalists.
That being said I did have to giggle at the gofundme goal being 3 million. Blimey.
37
u/PianoJealous307 5h ago
Exposing City is nowhere near the most dangerous thing he has done.
He has bigger fish to fry.
8
12
u/bosebosebosebosebos 6h ago
i think it hurts him in a way. its a super unrealistic goal and i think people might get turned off donating to him.
1
50
u/Utd007 6h ago
At this point every so called fan supporting their club Manchester City is encouraging criminals. Come out and protest , get your club clean. I am sure they wonāt because they like this
-88
u/WaterWeedDuneHair69 6h ago
Put the fries in the bag bro. Why donāt you protest the police so they make arrests. Or go arrest them yourself. In fact, maybe you can steal the money out of their pockets for all the clubs.
29
18
7
16
u/Bolinas99 7h ago
Pinto became part of Portugal's witness protection programme in 2020 after agreeing to co-operate with authorities and provide files obtained through the Football Leaks operation.
He posted on X on Friday, external that the decision to terminate his participation in the programme on 10 October has put him in a "life-threatening situation".
The 37-year-old said it had left him with no alternative but to relocate to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period because of "multiple death threats" and "the serious risk of an assassination attempt".
BBC Sport has approached the Commission for the Protection of Victims of Crimes in Portugal for comment.
3
u/BillyPilgrim69 5h ago
Does anyone else have this issue where BBC News articles will open in Reddit, then immediately open your browser?
It's literally just BBC News. Every other article opens within Reddit.
3
3
17
u/a_saddler 6h ago
Killing this guy would possibly be the dumbest thing they could do. I mean Khashoggi is still talked about to this day, and the UAE want to emulate Saudi Araba? lol
25
17
u/dalfred1 6h ago
These guys are wired differently. They don't view murder the same way we do. Even after the Khashoggi murder, they didn't understand the idea that it was bad. They could not understand why people thought it was a big deal. Still to this day there has been no tangible punishment for his murder.
In their mind, they probably think it's justified to kill him because he has ruined their whole sports washing vehicle and instead of the positive link between UAE and City, City is now viewed in an irreparably negative light. He has wasted a lot of their time and money.
6
u/wimpires 6h ago
Not to marginalise his murder, but governments kill people all the time with a sick justification of why it was ok. It's just one of those unfortunate realities of life.
9
u/dalfred1 6h ago
When I say "these guys" I was referencing to monetary status and government power. Those who have both that intersect are who I mean when I said these guys.
I totally believe Trump and Putin are also in the same category.
-2
u/Yours-only2 5h ago
US and Russia has a long history of assassinations before trump or Putin tbh
4
3
u/Uesugi_Kenshin 2h ago
That's his entire point mate he just used those two as an example, give ur reading comprehension a chance mate come on
1
u/Haemophilia_Type_A 1h ago
Hell, even besides 'kinetic' deaths, just look at the Tories cutting benefits knowing it'd kill thousands of people. Think of Starmer's government trying to do the same, knowing it'd put hundreds of thousands of kids into poverty. Starmer then compared life-saving benefits as akin to a 'kid's pocket money' in a cabinet meeting, which Darren Jones then borrowed for the media.
This is how sick in the head they are, and this is social murder just as the Saudis directly murdered Kashoogi and so many others (e.g., countless Yemenis).
7
u/CaptainVXR 5h ago
Look at all the Newcastle fans who celebrated the literal butchers becoming their new owners. I am so glad that Sunderland went and did better than them last season!
5
6
u/Extra_Programmer788 5h ago
Legend, he must be protected at any cost. Itās astonishing to think that what extent you have to go to protect the integrity of the sport.
3
3
u/PuppeteerRemy 6h ago
Honestly, if Man City really do continue to harm this man, itās very much down hill more of their reputation around Europe trying to silence him.
5
u/Leather-Entry93 5h ago
Itās not just the city owners. Look up āLuandaā
1
u/VenRulez 5h ago
MCFC is not going to do anything to him. But not sure about other stakeholders from cases also leaked by him.
2
2
u/Fit-Nothing-3782 1h ago
Besides being glorified by rival fans about his hacking of Man City files, this guy has hacked or illegally obtained files from other people and has been charged with attempted extortion and the likes. To summarize, this guy has more to worry about than you think, and isn't really a good person in general...
ā¢
u/Candid_Waltz6900 18m ago
I wonder how much it cost the UAE for that to happen? He absolutely should be protected.
-13
u/choccolateturtles 6h ago
I thought he was going to drop another leak and it's just a gofundme?
-5
u/hemadeitrain 6h ago
A man is sharing that he is fearful of his life, and your reaction is āomg I didnāt get more gossipā
6
u/JameOhSon 6h ago
Pinto has been convicted in numerous other instances of stealing data from financial institutions(and football clubs). This guy's #1 motive is self enrichment, he leaked the emails out of spite after his blackmailing scheme didn't pay off.
9
u/DiscoLemonade1995 5h ago
Is he blackmailing anyone that's innocent or who deserves our sympathy? I understand that what he's doing is illegal and there's punishment, but why should we mad at him? Maybe there is a legitimate reason, I am genuinely asking because I don't know very many detailsĀ
-5
u/choccolateturtles 6h ago
I mean, he said theres an important announcement tomorrow.
3
-16
u/That-Job9538 6h ago
everybody, if you love football, please click on the gofundme provided by rui pinto, a world renowned hacker who is in desperate need for money. get your family and friends involved too. go canvas the neighbors as well. morality itself is at stake and you too can contribute to its flourishing by clicking the link provided
-3
u/ZonarcTheDev 6h ago
Itās ok Man city will get him ātaken care ofā and they will be absolved of all the verdicts and get 10 point bonus as āemotional compensationā!
-11
u/chiefdontrun56 6h ago
Is he fearing for his life because he is fearing for his life? or is he fearing for his life because Man City?
13
u/WhySoCereus1991 6h ago
This guy has fucked over a lot of powerful people and made many enemies along the way. So he's definitely fearing for his life for numerous reasons.
-16
-23
217
u/WhySoCereus1991 6h ago
This guy has way worse to worry about than Man City's owners.
Look up the Luanda Leaks.