Benfica: Rui Pinto acquittal 'surprising', 'unexpected', 'novel' | OneFootball

The decision by the Lisbon Central Criminal Court to acquit Rui Pinto of 241 crimes in the second case of the ‘Football Leaks’ affair was seen by both the defense and Benfica, which is an assisting party in the proceedings, as “surprising”, “unexpected” and “unprecedented”.

The unanimous ruling by the panel of judges, chaired by Tânia Loureiro Gomes, declared the indictment brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) against the creator of the ‘Football Leaks’ website “invalid”, leading to his acquittal by the Lisbon Central Criminal Court on 241 charges in this second trial.

The view that, in light of the law, the defendant cannot be tried a second time for the same facts was received with surprise by Rui Patrício, Benfica’s lawyer and an assisting party in the case, who believes a historic precedent is at stake.

“Of course I wasn’t expecting it, nor was I expecting to hear it [this reasoning] at this stage of the proceedings, but it is what the Court decided. The decision is somewhat surprising and unprecedented and, in a certain sense, if the Court is right, it is revolutionary for the Portuguese judicial system,” he said.

Rui Patrício also admitted that confirmation of the scope of a decision of this kind could trigger a “revolution in the Portuguese judicial system”, since it could call into question the outcome of several cases still ongoing in Portuguese courts.

“There are several cases like this one, with multiple offshoots, and some of them you know about—cases in which the defendants, for the same set of facts and the same historical period, are being tried and have already been tried more than once. Cases, names and operations that are well known and, therefore, if this theory prevails, if the Court is right, if the Public Prosecutor’s Office does not appeal and does not win that appeal, this could cause a revolution in the Portuguese judicial system,” he added.

On the opposite side, and in response to these statements, Francisco Teixeira da Mota, Rui Pinto’s lawyer, acknowledged that this was a decision that “is not usual” and “innovative”, but one he clearly welcomes.

“It was not an expected decision in the sense of matching what is usual. That is to say: this emphasis on human rights, the dignity of the human person, in light of how the proceedings unfolded, is not usual and therefore, in that sense, [the decision] is innovative,” he said, expressing satisfaction.

Francisco Teixeira da Mota also highlighted the “historic” nature of the decision taken by the Lisbon Central Criminal Court, which, in his view, “honors Portuguese justice”.

“We are satisfied with this decision. It is a perverse strategy that we denounced and a decision that is unprecedented, even if [the Public Prosecutor’s Office] appeals. It may not stand, but this decision itself is unprecedented,” he assured.

In the second trial related to the ‘Football Leaks’ case, which began on 13 January 2025, Rui Pinto was tried and acquitted of a total of 241 crimes (201 counts of aggravated unauthorized access, 22 counts of aggravated violation of correspondence and 18 counts of computer damage), linked to access to Benfica’s emails and to those of entities such as the League of Clubs, law firms, judges, prosecutors, the Tax Authority and the National Internal Security Network.

Rui Pinto was convicted in the first ‘Football Leaks’ case, in September 2023, and given a four-year suspended sentence for attempted extortion, aggravated violation of correspondence and unauthorized access.

In November 2023, he was also convicted in France and sentenced to six months in prison, also suspended, for illegal access to Paris Saint-Germain emails.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.