Thomas Partey will miss Ghana's World Cup opener against Panama after a federal court in Ottawa rejected the appeal that sought to let him into Canada for Wednesday's match in Toronto. The ruling leaves Ghana without one of its most experienced players when the tournament begins.
The case turned on a straightforward question of entry, not football. Ghana's government asked for permission for Partey to enter Canada briefly just for the game, but the court said there was no serious issue in the visa refusal and that the applicant had not disclosed he is the subject of multiple criminal charges for sexual violence in the UK. Partey has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the allegations tied to four different women between 2020 and 2022.
The decision matters now because Ghana needed clarity before kickoff, and it got the opposite. Partey said, “My business is to play with the cards that I have in front of me,” while also telling reporters, “We are waiting for a decision. When the decision [arrives], we are ready.” For Ghana, the answer means adjusting immediately for a World Cup opener that was always going to carry weight.
There is another layer to the story that goes beyond the squad sheet. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said hosting major events does not change Canada's immigration laws, and that every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually on the facts and the law. At the same time, US customs and border protection said Partey was admitted to the United States after being issued a visa, noting that he had not been convicted of a crime. That contrast between the two border decisions is what made the appeal so difficult to win.
Partey now plays for Villarreal and has more than 50 appearances for Ghana since his debut in June 2016. He also represented Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Carlos Queiroz said he had no qualms over selecting him, but the ruling means Ghana must move on without him for Panama and wait to see whether anything changes before England in Boston on 23 June and Croatia in Philadelphia on 27 June. On a day built around one player's availability, the only certainty is that Ghana's first match will go ahead without him.
