Ghana has named Thomas Partey in its 26-man World Cup squad, putting the midfielder on the roster even though he is due to stand trial in London on rape and sexual assault charges. The squad was published in the early hours of Tuesday morning, hours before Ghana were due to meet Wales in a pre-tournament friendly in Cardiff.
The decision keeps Partey at the center of Ghana’s World Cup build-up. His inclusion comes while he faces seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in the United Kingdom, charges he has denied. The trial at Southwark Crown Court in London was originally set for November, but there is now a possibility it could slip into early 2027.
Partey, 32, returned to north London in September and was booed and jeered whenever he touched the ball in a Champions League match against Tottenham Hotspur. He came on in the 78th minute and was met with chants of “Thomas Partey, we know what you are” while warming up on the sidelines, an episode that underlined how closely his football is now tied to the criminal case hanging over him.
He left Arsenal when his contract expired on June 30, 2025, then signed for Villarreal and made 31 appearances for the Spanish club this season. The charges now before the court were brought on July 5, 2025, after an earlier investigation by Metropolitan Police detectives that began in February 2022 following a report of alleged rape. The initial six counts relate to three women and are said to concern events in 2021 and 2022, while two newer counts of rape relate to a fourth woman after a separate report of non-recent offences in 2020.
Partey pleaded not guilty to the original charges in September and again denied the two new counts in April. Under his bail conditions, he must notify authorities of any plan to travel abroad, which makes his availability for a tournament that will take Ghana from a base in Providence, Rhode Island, to group matches in Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia a live issue. Ghana will face Panama, England and Croatia in Group L, and the question now is not whether Partey is part of the squad, but whether he can stay with it through the World Cup while his case moves toward trial.
