“I don’t even know why I’m here.” The puzzling passage of Jorge Jesús by Football Leaks – Observer

There were two entrances to the courtroom that were particularly expected this Tuesday in the Football Leaks trial. First, that of Rui Pinto. The 14th session coincided with the 32 anniversary of the alleged hacker and when he entered the room, there were lawyers who could not resist congratulating him.

Then, that of Jorge Jesús. After several attempts to warn him to testify in court, the current Benfica coach was finally heard. Lawyers, judges, policemen and the accused himself stared at the door, almost as if they still did not believe that Jorge Jesús was really coming. But it came and was immediately visible. “Good morning, good morning, good morning”, he said as he waved and approached the chair where the witnesses sat. Once there, He immediately asked if he could take off his mask to speak. – what the court accepted.

The Attorney General Marta Viegas began by asking him if, when he was coach of Sporting, he had been assigned an email, in fact it is a question that the magistrate has asked all the witnesses whose emails It will have been accessed by Rui Pinto.

I did not use it, nor did I have a email. I don’t know if Sporting created this box. I didn’t use it, neither at Sporting, nor at Benfica, nor anywhere because I don’t use the emails Club ”, Jesus replied, noting that he has his personal email“ as normal ”.

Questions continued about Rui Pinto’s alleged computer attack against Sporting and the site that he created, Football Leaks, which caused some confusion for the witness. “I spent two years outside of Portugal. I don’t know how to tune in “, he reminded Jorge Jesús to justify the difficulty in answering. The magistrate was understanding and said she knew that the coach had been in Brazil. “And in Saudi Arabia,” added the witness.

The prosecutor did not give up and insisted on the issues to Jorge Jesús. He asked if he hadn’t even heard of Football Leaks. “It was never something that made a big deal out of it,” he said, even admitting that he didn’t know why he was called to testify: “I don’t even know why I’m here! It is mandatory to be here, isn’t it?Judge Margarida Alves rushed to explain: she was there because she was registered as a witness by the Public Ministry, the defense and the assistants. And because, in the thesis of the prosecution, Rui Pinto will have accessed his email and the contract with Sporting was announced, something that Jorge Jesús did not seem to appreciate:

I never worried, I have nothing to hide, nor did I value it. For me, it never created instability. There was nothing there that wasn’t true. I don’t know what the promotion to Sporting did, I’m a soccer coach, ”he said.

Driven by the speech, Jorge Jesús would even start treating the prosecutor for you. “If it is your contract, you are not afraid. You have to pay taxes like me: more than 50%He said, provoking strange looks from the people present in the courtroom.

Bruno de Carvalho’s forgiveness and praise for Rui Pinto. The former president of Sporting abandoned his hacker complaint and took off his hat

There is a regular list of questions that the prosecutor usually asks all the witnesses whose emails Rui Pinto will have accessed – questions that serve to show that they were not destined to give those blows – and Jorge Jesús was no exception. So even after the coach said he didn’t agree to the email Sporting, the magistrate had to ask if she had ever accessed the email in Hungary or Rui Pinto was authorized to do so. “Don’t take my questions seriously”said the prosecutor, almost anticipating Jorge Jesús’ perplexity.

– No, it’s you! Said the coach to the prosecutor.

– You are a prosecutor – The judge warned.

It remained to be asked if Jorge Jesús had ever been to Hungary and if he could have accessed the email in that country. The coach explained that he had traveled there more than 40 years ago, when he was still a Sporting player. However, the prosecutor had to make sure that the witness had not been in Budapest, specifically in 2015, the year that Rui Pinto reportedly entered his email. And for that reason, he asked the same question again, but in relation to 2015. The answer was not very enlightening.

I do not speak Portuguese? I already said that I was only in Budapest once, when I was 19 years old, when I went to play there ”, replied the coach.

Less than 20 minutes arrived for Jorge Jesús’ testimony. Before leaving the room, the current Benfica coach wanted to know who Rui Pinto was. “Is that boy there?”he asked, smiling and pointing to the defendant sitting behind him, a moment that drew more laughter in the courtroom.

Football Leaks Day 12. Difficulties in recognizing the documents stolen by Rui Pinto, the “whistleblower of Portuguese soccer cheats”

Two witnesses listed in the Football Leaks case are in prophylactic isolation due to Covid-19: this is José Luís Cristóvão, of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), e Bálint Bozó, relative of the Rui Pinto landlordsin Hungary, as explained in the indictment. So Tuesday’s session ended early and Wednesday morning’s session was canceled.

Bálint Bozó must be heard this Tuesday afternoon, by videoconference, since he is in Hungary. But as explained by the president of the jury, Margarida Alves, the witness is in confinement with the mother in a remote place from Budapest, without Internet access. The PGR computer technician is due to be heard in person Wednesday morning, but is also in prophylactic isolation. Thus, the trial continues tomorrow, October 21 at 2:00 p.m. with the hearing of the former director of the DCIAP, Amadeu Guerra.

Despite some postponements, this Tuesday other witnesses related to Sporting were heard, who provided clarifications related to their use of the emails allegedly accessed by Rui Pinto. Still in the morning session, former sporting director Alexandre Godinho considered that, in addition to “competition issues”, “There was no problem” for the club with the publication of some documents on Football Leaks. Sporting’s marketing technician, Tiago Vieira, was also heard by videoconference.

In the afternoon, the former Sporting coach Tiago Fernandes and his father, Manuel Fernandes, who was at Sporting between 1975 and 2018 and who is currently a sports commentator, were heard. The latter admitted that he knew “more or less” what Football Leaks was, but wanted to guarantee:

– Does this have to do with Rui Pinto?

– We think so! – replied the prosecutor.

Manuel Fernandes then explained that “what” they told him “is that Rui Pinto” had entered his computer. But he added: “I take very bad care of computers.” “They asked me if I wanted to sue you and I said no, I do not have anything to hide“It just came to our attention then.

The trial has lasted almost two months. In the last session, Rui Pinto saw a complaint removed: Bruno de Carvalho decided to withdraw and announced it during his testimony. The former president of Sporting left several praises to the alleged hacker and said Football Leaks “even worked.”

Bruno de Carvalho’s forgiveness and praise for Rui Pinto. The former president of Sporting abandoned his hacker complaint and took off his hat

Rui Pinto, the main defendant, is responsible for 90 crimes – everything related to the fact that you have accessed the computer systems and mailboxes emails people linked to Sporting, Doyen, the PLMJ law firm, the Portuguese Football Federation, the Illustrious Bar Association and the PGR. Among those attacked are Jorge Jesus, Bruno de Carvalho, the then director of DCIAP Amadeu Guerra or the lawyer José Miguel Júdice. Thus, 68 are for improper access, 14 for violation of correspondence, six for illegitimate access and also for computer sabotage to Sporting’s SAD and for attempted extortion of the Doyen investment fund.

Aníbal Pinto, his lawyer at the time of the alleged crimes, is responsible for the crime of attempted extortion. This is because, according to the investigation, Rui Pinto demanded a payment of between 500 thousand and one million euros from Doyen so that he would not publish documents related to the company that signs contracts with soccer clubs around the world. Aníbal Pinto, then a lawyer for the hacker, will have served as your intermediary. And that’s why they both sit next to each other, facing the panel of judges.

Rui Pinto. The “spiky-haired” kid who was already on school computers before he was John from Football Leaks

The alleged hacker has been in preventive detention since March 22, 2019 and was placed under house arrest on April 8 of this year, in a house assigned by the PJ. Following a request from the defendant’s defense, the judge Margarida Alves, president of the jury -who is judging Rui Pinto and has judges Ana Paula Conceição and Pedro Lucas as assistants- decided to release him. The alleged hacker left PJ’s premises in early August and his current address is unknown.