Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey has been denied entry to Canada and will miss his country’s opening World Cup match against Panama, FIFA has confirmed, with the decision coming just days before kick-off and amid the player’s ongoing rape trial in London.
FIFA said in a statement: “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. 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.”
No official reason for the refusal was given by FIFA or Canadian authorities. The 32-year-old former Arsenal player is awaiting trial at Southwark Crown Court, where he faces seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to alleged offences against four women between 2020 and 2022. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, with his trial potentially delayed until early 2027.
Despite the visa refusal, Partey had arrived in the United States with the Ghana squad on 4 June and has been training at the team’s base in Rhode Island. He was named in head coach Carlos Queiroz’s final 26-man squad for the tournament and recently started in a friendly against Wales. Ghana’s opening fixture against Panama is scheduled for BMO Field in Toronto on 17 June, before the team returns to the United States for further group games — including a meeting with England in the Boston area.
Ghana’s Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams told Joy News on Wednesday he had received no official confirmation of any visa issue. “I am not aware that he has been denied a visa,” Adams said. “I knew his previous visa to the United States had some challenges, but he has since been issued a visa to be able to enter the United States, and I am unaware that he had been denied a visa to Canada.” Adams said he would have expected any such development to have been communicated to his office or the Ghana Football Association.
The case adds to a growing list of entry difficulties affecting figures connected to this year’s tournament. Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was separately denied entry into the United States ahead of the World Cup, while Adams had previously pushed back on suggestions that large numbers of Ghanaian supporters had been refused visas, saying many organised fan groups had simply not yet completed their consular interviews.
According to GB News, the English Football Association is also reportedly considering its position over a potential pre-match handshake between England players and Partey when the two sides meet on 23 June at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts — should Partey’s status change and he be cleared to participate in later group fixtures held on US soil.
