Ghana Challenges Canada in Court Over Partey Visa Denial
Ghana’s opening World Cup fixture has been dragged from the pitch into a courtroom in Ottawa, with the government launching a legal challenge against Canada’s refusal to grant Thomas Partey a visa.
The 33-year-old midfielder has been ruled out of Wednesday’s Group game against Panama in Toronto after being denied entry, a decision Ghanaian officials have condemned as “high-handed and extremely unfair”.
Instead of joining his team-mates on the training ground, Partey’s immediate fate will be argued before a judge at 14:00 BST (09:00 Eastern Time) in the Canadian capital.
Criminal case casts long shadow
The visa refusal is tied directly to ongoing criminal proceedings in the UK. Partey has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to allegations made by four women between 2020 and 2022. His trial is scheduled for next year.
Those unresolved charges sit at the heart of Canada’s decision to block his entry, and now at the centre of Ghana’s urgent legal bid.
Ghana pushes back
Ghana is not treating this as a routine administrative setback. The state has gone to court seeking permission for Partey to enter Canada briefly and solely to play in the World Cup match.
The filing also asks the court to order Canadian immigration authorities to allow the former Arsenal midfielder to submit a fresh visa application, in the hope that a narrowly tailored request might satisfy security and legal concerns.
At the same time, Accra is working the diplomatic channels. Foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has confirmed the government is exploring political and diplomatic avenues to secure a visa for one of its most high-profile players.
Race against the clock
Time is the enemy. The hearing is set, but there is no indication of how quickly the court will rule, or whether any decision would come in time to alter Ghana’s plans for the Panama game in Toronto.
For now, the squad prepares without its veteran midfielder, while lawyers and diplomats attempt to win a different kind of contest in Ottawa.
Whether Ghana’s intervention shifts Canada’s stance will not just shape one team sheet. It will offer a sharp early test of how far governments and courts are willing to bend for football on the sport’s biggest stage.
