Canada's federal court dismisses Ghana's visa appeal for Thomas Partey, ruling him out of World Cup opener

Thomas Partey will not feature in Ghana’s World Cup opener against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday after Canada’s federal court dismissed a motion to review his visa denial on Tuesday. The Ghanaian government had filed for the review following immigration officials’ decision to bar the midfielder from entering the country, but the Ottawa court rejected the appeal.

Canada’s immigration authorities ruled Partey inadmissible under Canadian law, which allows officials to deny entry to foreign nationals on the basis of reasonable grounds to believe an inadmissible act has been committed — even without a foreign conviction. “When there are reasonable grounds to believe an act that would trigger inadmissibility has been committed by an applicant, they can be deemed inadmissible to Canada,” a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told Reuters.

The 33-year-old, who spent last season at Villarreal in Spain after leaving Arsenal, is facing criminal proceedings in the UK. He denies seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations made by four women between 2020 and 2022, and is due to stand trial next year. His lawyer confirmed in March that Partey also intends to plead not guilty to two additional rape charges after a further woman alleged he assaulted her twice on the same day in December 2020. Partey has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz defended his decision to include Partey in the World Cup squad, citing the presumption of innocence. The visa refusal has prompted anger among Ghana supporters and the Ghanaian diaspora in Canada. “The decision by the Canadian government was unfortunate,” said Akua Mensah, 45, a Canadian of Ghanaian descent, speaking to Reuters on Monday.

Despite Canada’s refusal, the United States has granted Partey a visa, allowing him to train at Ghana’s base camp in Smithfield, Rhode Island. He remains eligible for the Black Stars’ remaining group-stage fixtures: against England in Massachusetts on 23 June, and against Croatia in Philadelphia on 27 June.