A federal court in Ottawa has rejected Ghana’s appeal to allow Thomas Partey into Canada for the national team’s World Cup opener, meaning Partey will miss Wednesday’s match against Panama in Toronto.
The court upheld the original visa refusal tied to ongoing criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom and said there was “no serious issue in the underlying refusal.” The ruling added that the applicant failed to disclose 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 related to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022, and is scheduled to stand trial next year.
The Ghanaian government had formally asked Canadian authorities to allow Partey into the country briefly to play in the match. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada defended its decision-making framework, saying Canada assesses each person seeking entry individually and that hosting a major event does not change immigration laws.
The loss of Partey removes a veteran midfielder from Ghana’s starting options for the opener; Partey, who now plays for Villarreal, has appeared for Ghana more than 50 times since his debut in June 2016 and was part of the squad at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Coach Carlos Queiroz said the team will work with the players available, adding that he and his staff were “waiting for a decision” and that when it arrived they were ready to act.
The case exposes an awkward split in how countries handled Partey’s travel. US customs and border protection noted the United States was aware of the pending court case but that, at the time of his entry, Partey had not been convicted of a crime and had been admitted after receiving a visa. That admission stands in contrast to the Canadian court’s conclusion and leaves the player’s availability for matches outside Canada unresolved.
Immigration authorities framed the decision as a straightforward application of immigration law rather than an event-driven exception. Their public remarks stressed that hosting a major sporting event does not alter the legal criteria Canada applies to visa applicants and that every case is judged on the facts and applicable law.
The immediate consequence is concrete: Partey will not be available for Ghana’s first group game on Wednesday in Toronto. Ghana now prepares to face England in Boston on 23 June and Croatia in Philadelphia on 27 June; the ruling does not say whether Partey could travel to the United States for those fixtures, and there is no confirmation that he will be able to join the squad for later matches.
The most urgent unanswered question is whether the legal status that blocked entry to Canada will prevent Partey from rejoining Ghana in the United States later in the tournament. With his trial scheduled for next year and the Canadian court citing non-disclosure of his status in the original visa application, Ghana must proceed without one of its most experienced players while the immigration and criminal processes continue to play out.
