Ghana coach Queiroz defends picking Partey for World Cup amid rape trial

Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz has defended his decision to include Thomas Partey in his World Cup squad, with the former Arsenal midfielder due to stand trial in London on multiple charges of rape. Partey, who has pleaded not guilty, now plays for Villarreal in La Liga and is set to represent Ghana at this summer’s tournament before his trial begins in November or later.

Speaking in Cardiff ahead of a warm-up fixture against Wales on Tuesday, Queiroz invoked the principle of presumption of innocence and took aim at what he described as the impunity of modern media. “Today, and this is not only about Thomas, very unfortunately the way social media, and the media sometimes, act with full and total impunity we are condemned even before we have the opportunity to defend ourselves,” he said.

The 73-year-old Portuguese coach, who was appointed by Ghana in April and is heading to his fifth consecutive World Cup having previously led Portugal and Iran, was characteristically philosophical on the matter. “Let events run its normal course, let the river flow and one day when the river meets the ocean we will find the truth,” he said.

Queiroz was equally direct about the limits of his own commentary. “If the player is here with me, my answer is clear, so I don’t have to make comments about my own decisions,” he added, suggesting there were “much more serious problems, urgent issues in the world to talk about.”

Partey, 32, faces allegations dating to his time at Arsenal between 2020 and 2025. He is not the only player at this summer’s tournament in a similar legal position — Morocco full-back Achraf Hakimi is also awaiting trial on rape charges in Paris.

On the pitch, Ghana open their Group L campaign against Panama in Toronto on June 17, before facing England in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and concluding the group stage against Croatia in Philadelphia on June 27. The top two teams advance automatically to the round of 32, with a third-place route also available.

The squad is headlined by Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo as Ghana make their fifth World Cup appearance in the last six editions. The Black Stars carry painful memories of the 2010 tournament in South Africa, where they were denied a historic semi-final place after Uruguay’s Luis Suárez punched away a goal-bound header in extra time.