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.
Earlier, news agency Reuters quoted a Canadian spokesperson for immigration, refugees, and citizenship, who said the policy remains the same and consistency is maintained throughout.
“Every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually, based on the facts available and the law that applies,” the spokesperson said.
FIFA reacts
Earlier, FIFA also reacted to the development, saying the football body is not involved in handing out visas and cannot do much about the immigration process.
“FIFA can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable to travel from Ghana’s team base camp in Boston, USA, to Canada for their first match against Panama on Wednesday, 17 June, as his visa application has been refused by the Canadian government. FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country,” FIFA said in a statement.
The 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup has been hit with several immigration issues. The USA earlier denied entry to Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was due to officiate at the tournament.
An official from US President Donald Trump’s administration then revealed that the country’s authorities had discovered “association with suspected members of terror organisations”.
