Several Portuguese media outlets have identified businessman Miguel Pinho as the target of an accusation announced by the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP). The accusation involves the “commission of aggravated active corruption, under the regime of criminal responsibility for unsportsmanlike conduct”. Attempts to contact Pinho have been unsuccessful.
The accusation states that in 2016, while serving as a sports agent, Pinho allegedly approached a professional football player during the 2015/16 season of the I Liga. He reportedly sought a performance from the player that would be adverse to their own team’s interests in exchange for financial compensation, aiming to benefit the opposing team, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In January 2023, weekly newspaper Expresso reported that former Marítimo forward Edgar Costa claimed Pinho attempted to bribe him to underperform in a match against Benfica, an allegation Pinho denied.
The match in question took place during the 33rd and penultimate round of the 2015/16 I Liga season, where Benfica defeated Marítimo 2-0 on Marítimo’s home ground. This victory brought Benfica closer to clinching the title, eventually winning it with a two-point lead over Sporting, who placed second.
The investigation stemmed from the ’emails’ case involving Benfica, targeting Miguel Pinho and his father Luís Miguel Pinho, who manage the football mediation company Position Number, on suspicion of active corruption.
Just play poorly and avoid shooting at the goal The accusation in the ’emails’ case alleged that on May 6 or 7, 2016, agents approached Edgar Costa and offered him 30,000 euros to “perform a sporting act detrimental to the interests of Marítimo” during the May 8, 2016 match.
Allegedly told that “simply playing poorly and not aiming at the goal” would suffice, coupled with the promise of a better-paid contract with another club, Edgar Costa reportedly refused the proposal immediately.
In a statement released today, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has reported that it has “requested the application of a supplementary penalty prohibiting the practice of the profession or activity of sports agent” and “requested the forfeiture of assets and advantages amounting to thirty thousand euros, equivalent to the value of the advantage/reward promised by the defendant”.
“The Public Prosecutor also promoted the application of property seizure measures, specifically the seizure of assets in the defendant’s patrimony”, the statement concluded.
In February 2024, agent César Boaventura was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, execution suspended, for three crimes of active corruption in football. The Matosinhos Court proved that he had attempted to bribe former Rio Ave players Cássio, Marcelo, and Lionn to underperform in a match against Benfica during the 2015/16 season, in exchange for financial and contractual advantages.
Further inquiries from the ’emails’ case led to proceedings against José Luís Moça, the then-sporting director of Desportivo das Aves, and former Vitória de Setúbal player Nuno Pinto, for the crime of offering or receiving undue advantage.
This case pertained to an alleged proposal for a performance contrary to the team’s interests in exchange for a not specifically determined reward, regarding Benfica’s visit to the sadinos on April 7, 2018, during the 29th round of the 2017/18 I Liga, which the ‘encarnados’ won 2-1, with two goals from Raúl Jiménez, one of them a penalty at the 90+2 minute mark.
