Explained: Why Thomas Partey is allowed to play for Ghana against England, amid r*pe charges

The latest fixture in the World Cup for England is a group stage match against Ghana – the team Thomas Partey plays for. At the moment, Partey is facing charges of seven counts of r*pe and one count of s*xual assault. He has denied all charges.

This will be the first World Cup match Partey has been available to play in, as he previously wasn’t permitted to play in Ghana’s first group match against Panama. Ghana’s first game was held in Toronto, Canada, and Partey was refused entry to the country.

He was denied a visa into Canada, due to the charges, so his teammates went on without him. Under Canadian law, foreign nationals can be found inadmissible ⁠even without a conviction. So, despite Thomas Partey having not gone on trial yet, his visa was still denied. Partey unsuccessfully appealed the decision to reject his visa application.

Court documents have also since revealed that Thomas Partey’s application for a temporary resident visa in the country did not disclose his criminal charges. He falsely answered “no” to a question about whether he had “ever committed, been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any criminal offence in any country”.

At the time, FIFA said in a statement: “FIFA can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable to travel from Ghana’s team base camp to Canada for their first match against Panama.

“His visa application has been refused 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.”

So, what’s changed?

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Thomas Partey outside Southwark Crown Court in London, via Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Why is Thomas Partey allowed to play against England, when he wasn’t previously?

Despite this, Thomas Partey is part of the Ghana squad, and able to play against England. This is because this game is being held in the US, where immigration rules are different. Partey was granted a US visa ahead of the tournament.

In an interview earlier this week, Partey said “things happen that you cannot control” but he is now “ready to play”. He said: “I think for me now it’s part of football. Things happen outside football that you cannot control, but for me now I feel ok and I am ready to play.”

Thomas Partey was first charged with five counts of r*pe and one count of sexual assault in July 2025. He was then charged with two more counts of r*pe in February this year. The allegations, all of which are from the UK, date back to 2020, 2021 and 2022. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, and is expected to go on trial in January 2027.

Ghana’s head coach, Carlos Queiroz, has said Partey should be seen as innocent until proven guilty. “Let events run their normal course, let the river flow and one day, when the river meets the ocean, we will find the truth,” he said.

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