Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey will miss the Black Stars’ first match of World Cup 2026 after being refused entry into Canada.
Partey had an application for a temporary resident visa refused on the basis that the application claimed that he had not committed a criminal offence, nor been arrested for, charged with or convicted of one.
An appeal against the decision was rejected on Tuesday, confirming that the 33-year-old would be unable to play for Ghana against Panama in their Group L opener at Toronto’s BMO Field on Wednesday.
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Thomas Partey has been banned from entering Canada
“An appeal against the decision to deny Ghana’s Thomas Partey a Canadian visa for the World Cup has failed – with court documents revealing the initial visa application did not disclose the criminal charges he faces in the UK,” reports Sky Sports.
“A letter addressed to Partey from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sent on May 25 set out concerns about whether his application had met the requirement to ‘answer truthfully’.
“The federal court, in its ruling on Tuesday dismissing the motion, noted that the response to that letter and Partey's affidavit to the court ‘fail to acknowledge, let alone explain why this material information was missing in his application’.”
Partey is awaiting trial in 2027. The former Arsenal midfielder denies seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault involving four different women. The alleged offences took place between 2020 and 2022, and the player has pleaded not guilty.
Arsenal have been criticised for continuing to play Partey until he left London for Villarreal when his contract expired last summer. The Ghana Football Association have been clear in their backing for the midfielder.
Carlos Quieroz, who succeeded Otto Addo as Ghana’s head coach when he was sacked in March, was no different when he was asked about concerns over Partey’s inclusion in the World Cup squad.
“If the player is here with me, my answer is clear,” said Queiroz. “This is not for me or you to make a judgement about. Let the events run their normal course; let the river flow and one day when the river meets the ocean we are going to find the truth.”
By selecting Partey, Queiroz has limited his squad for the first game to 25 players. Ghana will be back up to a full complement for their second and third group matches against England and Croatia.
Partey is already in the United States, where Ghana have set up their World Cup base, having had no similar issues entering the country.
The Black Stars will play at Gillette Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field in their last two Group L fixtures. If they finish second in the group, they will be back in Toronto in the round of 32.
It’s also possible that the third-placed team in the group progress to play in Vancouver in the round of 16.
