Thomas Partey will miss Ghana’s opening match of the 2026 World Cup against Panama after being denied entry to Canada.

Ghana start their World Cup campaign Wednesday in Toronto, but Partey, 32, will not be present after the Canadian government denied his visa application. Partey has been charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by London’s Metropolitan Police and is awaiting trial.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. It was validated last month that Partey’s trial on rape charges originally set for November at Southwark Crown Court had been pushed back to start June 8, 2027.

A statement from FIFA — first published by The Athletic — read: “FIFA can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable to travel from Ghana’s team base camp in Boston, USA, to Canada for their first match against Panama on Wednesday, 17 June, as his visa application has been refused by the Canadian government.

Thomas Partey will play no part in Ghana’s first World Cup group game. Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images”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.”Partey played for Arsenal from 2020 to 2025 and is currently at Villarreal. He has 57 caps for Ghana and featured in their last warmup match against Wales on June 2. But as the team prepares to travel from its Rhode Island base to Canada, Partey will not be joining it.

ESPN has contacted the Ghana Football Association and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for comment.

Partey has appeared previously in the dock to plead not guilty to all charges and is on bail during the legal proceedings, with a condition that he does not contact alleged victims.

The next hearing in his case has been set for Oct. 2.

✔ today silver rate

✔ 2026 winter olympics

✔ chat gtp

✔ silver rate today

✔ silver rate today live

✔ 2030 winter olympics

Read More

Sports

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *