Thomas Partey has been denied entry to Canada and will not be available for Ghana’s first World Cup game in Toronto on Wednesday.
The former Arsenal midfielder was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2025 by the Metropolitan police and pleaded not guilty. Partey, who now plays for the Spanish club Villarreal, was subsequently charged with two new counts of rape in February and also pleaded not guilty.
The 32-year-old was allowed to enter the United States with the rest of Ghana’s squad on 4 June and has been in a training camp in Boston before the start of the World Cup. They are in the same group as England and kick off against Panama. But in a statement on Friday, Fifa confirmed that Partey’s visa application had been rejected by the Canadian government.
“Fifa is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous Fifa events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country,” it added.
The midfielder, who previously lived in Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, joined Arsenal from Atlético Madrid in 2020 in a transfer worth about £45m, before he left the club in June last year. Ghana are due to face England, who take on Croatia in their opening game on Wednesday, in their second match of the World Cup, in Boston on 23 June.
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Canada’s immigration department said in a statement that while it cannot comment on specific cases without the signed consent of those concerned, staff apply the rules “consistently and without exception, regardless of nationality, profile, or role in the tournament”.
The department added that officers are trained decision-makers who assess an individual’s eligibility and admissibility in accordance with Canadian immigration laws.
