Thomas Partey is unavailable for Ghana’s World Cup opener against Panama on Wednesday after he was denied entry to Canada.
FIFA confirmed to The Athletic’s Dan Sheldon that the Canadian government refused Partey’s visa application. The Villarreal midfielder is therefore unable to travel from Ghana’s base camp in Boston for the match in Toronto.
“FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country,” world football’s governing body added in its statement.
London’s Metropolitan Police charged Partey with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2025. The alleged incidents occurred in 2021 and 2022 during his five-season stint with Arsenal. He pleaded not guilty. He was charged with two further counts of rape in February and pleaded not guilty again.
Ghana follows its Group L meeting with Panama with fixtures in the United States against England (June 23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts) and Croatia (June 27 in Philadelphia).
Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz defended his decision to select Partey for the World Cup while he awaits trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.
“Let events run its normal course, let the river flow, and one day when the river meets the ocean, we will find the truth,” Queiroz said earlier in June.
He added, “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.”
Partey is Ghana’s vice-captain and has played six times for his country since he was first charged. He featured in almost two-thirds of Villarreal’s La Liga fixtures over the 2025-26 campaign.