The government of Ghana says it intends to pursue legal action before Canada’s federal court against the “extremely unfair” decision to deny Thomas Partey entry to the country, The Athletic reports.
Ghana are set to play their opening World Cup game at Toronto’s BMO Field against Panama on Wednesday, June 17. The Athletic exclusively revealed on Friday that midfielder Partey, 33, would not be allowed to feature after he was denied entry to Canada.
The Ghana government statement said the ruling is “understood to be based on pending criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom that have not resulted in any conviction or judicial finding of guilt”.
The Villarreal midfielder, formerly of Arsenal, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2025 by London’s Metropolitan Police. In September of that year, he pleaded not guilty. He was charged with two new counts of rape in February this year, to which he pleaded not guilty in April.
In a statement published on X by foreign minister Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, the government said they are “pursuing active diplomatic engagements” as they believe the “high handed” ruling “raises fundamental questions of fairness and proportionality”.
Also Read: We’re Solidly Behind Partey –Ghana FA
“The Government of Ghana reaffirms the fundamental legal principle of the presumption of innocence, a cornerstone of justice and due process in democratic societies,” the statement read.
The Ghanaian government statement said it was informed that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made the decision on grounds of inadmissibility under paragraph A36(1)(c) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). The Athletic has approached the IRCC for comment.
That clause states: “A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality for committing an act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence under an Act of Parliament punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years.”
Partey arrived with his national team-mates in Washington D.C. on June 4. The Ghana team travelled to their training base in Rhode Island on Friday. Their other group-stage games will take place against England at the Gillette Stadium (Boston) on June 23 and against Croatia at Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) on June 27.
Should Ghana progress through the group stage as one of the best third-place finishers, they could play in Vancouver in the round of 32.
