An appeal to overturn Thomas Partey’s ban from entering Canada has been dismissed and he will play no part in Ghana’s 2026 World Cup opener on Wednesday.The Athletic on Friday exclusively revealed that Partey had been denied entry to the country meaning he would not be able to travel with team-mates to Toronto for the game against Panama.The Villarreal player, formerly of Arsenal, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2025 by London’s Metropolitan Police. In September of that year, he pleaded not guilty. He was charged with two new counts of rape in February this year, to which he pleaded not guilty in April.However, when applying to enter Canada ahead of the tournament, Partey’s application, received on May 21, falsely claimed that he had not been charged with any criminal charges in any country.In a letter dated May 25, included in federal court documents seen by The Athletic, Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship department voiced concerns his application may be inadmissible on grounds of misrepresentation, sections 40 (1) and 16 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and gave him seven days to respond.Partey was denied a temporary resident permit 16 days later on June 10, the day the squad travelled to the United States. The IIRC decision letter refusing Partey’s visa application said he was “inadmissible to Canada” as a result of the charges he faces. Partey and his representatives submitted a request to the Federal Court asking for his entry to Canada, for Ghana’s opening World Cup game on Thursday, be reconsidered.