By Daily Review Online
The Ghana government lashed out at Canada after the country denied entry to midfielder Thomas Partey, ahead of the team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 match against Panama on Wednesday in Toronto. In a strongly-worded statement, the West African nation’s foreign ministry said that it understands that the decision was taken based on criminal proceedings in Britain, but added that the call was unfair as the 33-year-old has already pleaded not guilty to multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault.
Partey will be standing trial next year. He is currently a part of Ghana’s squad and is based in Boston. He will miss the team’s opening match but will be able to feature in the next two Group L matches against England in Foxborough and against Croatia in Philadelphia.
“The Government of the Republic of Ghana expresses strong reservations following the high-handed and extremely unfair decision by Canada,” the statement read.
“While respecting Canada’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws, Ghana considers that reliance on unproven charges in the absence of a judicial determination raises fundamental questions of fairness and proportionality,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government defended its decision to ban Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey from entering the country as necessary for “maintaining the safety and security of Canadians.”
Partey has been charged with sexual assault and rape in the United Kingdom but has not been convicted of anything. He has pleaded not guilty and is expected to stand trial in 2027.
“Under Canadian law, foreign nationals can be found inadmissible without a foreign conviction,” Matthew Krupovich of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement. “When there are reasonable grounds to believe an act that would trigger inadmissibility has been committed by an applicant, they can be deemed inadmissible to Canada.”
Ghana will play its opening World Cup match against Panama next Wednesday in Toronto. Partey entered the United States with Ghana’s team last week and has been present at the team’s training camp in Rhode Island. Ghana’s other two matches are scheduled to take place in the United States.