Court convicts Portuguese hacker in Football Leaks trial and gives him a 4-year suspended sentence

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A Portuguese hacker whose bombshell revelations on the “Football Leaks” website rocked European soccer has been convicted by a Lisbon court of nine crimes and given a suspended prison sentence of four years. Portuguese media reported that the three-judge panel found Rui Pinto guilty on five counts of unauthorized entry into computer systems, three counts of intercepting correspondence for accessing emails, and one count of attempted extortion. Pinto’s disclosures embarrassed star players, top clubs and influential agents between 2015-18 and helped drive official investigations across Europe. The website published information about the transfer fees and salaries of stars and alleged that Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain had flouted European soccer’s spending rules.