After being denied a visa to enter Canada for Ghana’s World Cup opener last week, Thomas Partey is set to face England in Boston on Tuesday.
The former Arsenal midfielder was named in Ghana’s 26-man squad despite being charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in July last year. He was charged with two new counts of rape in February. The 33-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Since leaving Arsenal at the end of the 2024-25 season, Partey has been playing in Spain with Villarreal. The midfielder is set to become a free agent, however, after the La Liga side opted against renewing his contract.
What has England’s reaction to Partey presence been?
England’s communications department have understandably kept Partey discussion to a minimum, given its sensitive nature.
When a reporter attempted to ask Dan Burn whether England’s players will shake Partey’s hand ahead of the match, Burn was not allowed to answer the question, the FA’s communications lead, Andy Walker, interjected.
It is understood that the issue has not been directly raised with the players, and the FA will leave it up to the players themselves to decide whether they will shake Partey’s hand.
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are former team-mates of Partey but both could miss out in Boston through injury.
What can the media report about Partey now?
In UK law, media outlets can be found in contempt of court if they publish or broadcast any material that creates a substantial risk of seriously influencing or prejudicing active legal proceedings.
If publications are found to have committed contempt of court, they can be penalised, including with large fines. In 2002, the Sunday Mirror was hit with one of the biggest contempt of court fines in media history for coverage that led to the collapse of footballers Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate’s trial for grievous bodily harm and affray. The newspaper had to pay £75,000 as a fine and £54,000 in costs.
Even if a case is widely discussed on social media, that does not give newspapers or broadcasters permission to publish details of the case such as the name of the accused. That is why you will sometimes read stories about an “unnamed footballer” accused of criminal activity. It might be an open secret within the game – but it doesn’t mean newspapers can name them.
As for alleged victims of sexual crimes, they get lifetime anonymity in the UK. They cannot be identified at any stage – even if the person accused is ultimately found not guilty.
People who are arrested and accused of sexual crimes are not granted anonymity. However, in February 2022, the UK Supreme Court ruled definitively that a person who is under criminal investigation has a reasonable expectation of privacy prior to a charge.
That led to a huge change in how the media reported high-profile individuals who were being investigated by the police, for fear that newspapers or broadcasters might be sued for breaching that individual’s privacy.
Once he was charged, the media was allowed to identify Partey and report what he has been accused of. The identity of the footballer in this case, Partey, was known to many within the media industry but they would not have been legally able to publish his name.
What happens next?
In Canada’s official ruling, it was stated that “the applicant failed to disclose that he is the subject of multiple criminal charges for sexual violence in the UK”.
In its rejection of his application, Canada also said immigration decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and that hosting the World Cup does not change the country’s immigration laws.
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The Ghanaian government labelled the decision “high-handed and extremely unfair”. It also asked the courts to instruct Canadian immigration authorities to allow Partey to submit a new visa application, which was denied.
Partey can play in the US as long as Ghana continue to fulfil their matches there. They play their final group game against Croatia in Philadelphia. Should they finish second in Group L, however, Ghana will return to Canada – without Partey – for their last-32 clash.
Partey will stand trial for the seven counts of rape and one of sexual assault at Southwark Crown Court in London. The trial was originally scheduled for November, but may now be delayed until early 2027.
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