Ghana has asked a Canadian court to overturn Ottawa’s decision to ban footballer Thomas Partey, a day before the Ghanaian side’s World Cup opener in Toronto.
Partey, a Villarreal midfielder, is facing seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault in Britain relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022.
He denies the allegations, but Canada last week refused to grant him a World Cup visa.
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Accra filed a request for an injunction in Canadian federal court early Tuesday, seeking to set aside Ottawa’s decision and potentially allow Partey to enter Canada and play against Panama on Wednesday.
Canadian media said a judge received the request on Tuesday morning and was reviewing it.
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Ghana’s veteran coach Carlos Queiroz told reporters in Toronto that his side would be ready, regardless of the court’s decision.
“It is not necessary to make comments. The story is open,” said Queiroz, a Portuguese national born in Mozambique.
“My business is to play with the cards that I have in front of me. We are waiting for a decision. When the decision (comes), we are ready.”
Ghanaian Foreign Minister Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa has called Canada’s decision “high-handed and extremely unfair,” describing Partey as “a key member of Ghana’s senior national team.”
Accra has sent an official “note of protest” to Ottawa over the move and formally asked Canada to review the decision, Ablakwa said.
Canada’s foreign ministry has not responded to a query regarding its response to Ghana’s protest.
Queiroz declined to comment on how the absence of Partey, who previously played for Arsenal, could impact his side.
IRAN ORDERED TO LEAVE US EARLY
On Monday, coach Amir Ghalenoei complained that Iran was the “most oppressed team in the World Cup” after his players were suddenly informed they must travel back to Mexico immediately after their opening game ended.
According to Ghalenoei, Iran was originally slated to spend the night in Los Angeles following its World Cup opener.
He did not say who ordered the team’s departure from the US.
A plan to station the Iran team in Arizona was scrubbed at the 11th hour, with a new base camp being established in Tijuana, Mexico instead.
“They delayed our arrivals, (now) they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery,” Ghalenoei told journalists.
“They are making the situation more and more difficult, facing us with more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best.
“They didn’t even give us time to recover. After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”
He continued: “We don’t know why they are returning us, to be honest.
“I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us. The decision-making for us is being made elsewhere. We were supposed to come two nights before the game, and we were supposed to stay tonight to recover and return tomorrow at lunchtime. We have no idea why.
“I think our team is perhaps the most oppressed in the World Cup.”
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi added: “Everything is like a disaster actually for us… still we have some problems because we are supposed to be training tomorrow morning – recovery – then leave for Tijuana.
“But we have to leave Los Angeles right now, and it’s not good for us. It’s not good for the football, because in World Cup, you have to prepare good for the next game.
“Because it is a lot of stress for the players and the staff and everyone. But we don’t have that support and I think FIFA have to help us more than this.”
Iranian forward Mehdi Torabi has received a visa for the United States that will allow him to play the rest of the tournament there, a team official said Tuesday.
Torabi, who sat on the bench in the squad’s opening 2-2 draw with New Zealand, had originally only been granted permission to enter the country once, setting the team scrambling to find a solution that would allow him to return to face Belgium on Sunday.
“Following efforts by the Football Federation and coordination with FIFA, the player was issued a new multiple-entry visa today,” a team official said.
“With this visa now secured, Torabi will have no issues accompanying Iran’s national team in its upcoming matches and will be available to travel with the squad throughout the remainder of the tournament.”
Iran’s final group game is against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The visa issue was the latest complication for the Iranian team in the run up to the World Cup.
Team Melli’s participation had been in doubt since the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran in late February.
Tehran hit back at US allies in the region, targeting infrastructure and closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes.
US officials denied visas entirely for more than a dozen support staff, meaning they could not travel to the games.
NEYMAR NEARS RETURN FROM INJURY
Brazil forward Neymar, who was diagnosed with a right calf injury in late May, trained at the World Cup for the first time Tuesday in a sign he may be nearing a return.
The 34-year-old has been undergoing treatment since the squad’s arrival in the United States, but took another step in his recovery process as he was out running at Brazil’s training base in New Jersey.
Brazil’s all-time record scorer has yet to return to full training after missing the team’s opening 1-1 draw against Morocco on Saturday.
Neymar has been an integral part of Brazil’s last three World Cup campaigns but there was some surprise at his inclusion this time as injuries have prevented him from playing for his country at all since 2023.
He has featured in just half of his club’s games in the Brazilian league, cup and Copa Sudamericana this year due to various fitness issues.
Brazil’s next game is against Haiti in Philadelphia on Friday. They face Scotland in their final Group C game in Miami on June 24.