Ghana’s Thomas Partey will not be available for the Black Stars’ World Cup opener against Panama in Toronto on June 17 after a Canadian federal court judge rejected his appeal to overturn a visa refusal.
Judge Roger Lafreniere issued the ruling on June 16, finding that Canadian immigration authorities were justified in deeming Partey inadmissible. The reason: Partey did not disclose multiple counts of rape and sexual assault filed against him in the UK when applying for entry into Canada.
What happened with the visa
The original visa refusal came roughly a week before the court ruling. Canadian immigration law requires applicants to declare any serious criminal charges, regardless of whether a conviction has been reached. Partey’s failure to do so triggered an automatic inadmissibility determination.
Partey has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which relate to incidents alleged to have occurred between 2020 and 2022 involving multiple complainants. The case remains active in UK courts.
