Rui Pinto barred from Japan: “No word from Embassy or Immigration”

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Portal dos Dragões

·14 January 2026

Rui Pinto barred from Japan: “No word from Embassy or Immigration”

Rui Pinto, sentenced to four years in prison with a suspended sentence in the 'Football Leaks' case, lamented early this morning being prevented from entering Japanese territory during a trip to Tokyo.

“I landed in Tokyo today and was not allowed to enter Japanese territory because I was sentenced in Portugal in the 'Football Leaks' case to a prison term of more than one year, even though it is suspended. I regret that neither the Japanese Embassy in Lisbon nor the Tokyo Immigration Services informed me in advance about the obstacles to my entry into Japan, despite having contacted them beforehand. This would have avoided this pointless trip and the discomfort of this entire situation!” he wrote in a post on X/Twitter.