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An appeal against a decision to deny Ghana’s Thomas Partey a Canadian visa for the World Cup has failed – with court documents revealing the initial visa application did not reveal the criminal charges he faces in the UK.
An application for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) was made on May 21, but the response to a question about whether Partey had ever committed a crime, been arrested, charged or convicted in any country was ‘no’.
The 33-year-old former Arsenal midfielder has denied seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations made by four different women between 2020 and 2022 and is awaiting trial next year.
A May 25 letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) addressed to the party raised concerns about whether its application met the requirement to “answer truthfully.”
It also said he could be inadmissible for a temporary resident visa under a section of the law covering misrepresentation.
The federal court, in its ruling Tuesday, dismissed the motion, noting that the party’s response to that letter and affidavit in court “failed to acknowledge, let alone explain, why this material information was missing from its application.”
On May 27, the complaint documents were sent to IRCC by the Ghana Football Association. Ghana will face Panama in Toronto on Wednesday but will now have to do so without a party before taking on England in Boston on June 23. The party has been granted a US visa.
The court found that the officer who refused the visa to the party did not err in law by basing the refusal on an unproven offence.
“Different from sections 36(1)(c), 36(1)(b) of the IRPA (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act), a conviction is not required for an applicant to be found inadmissible. Rather, only having reasonable grounds to believe that an offense has been committed is sufficient,” wrote Judge Laughren Rodger.
Sky Sports News The Ghana Football Association has been contacted for comment.
The team is able to play the last two matches of Group L
Sky Sports News Chief Correspondent Kaveh Solhekel:
“Thomas Parte has lost his appeal against Canada’s decision not to allow him to enter the country to play in the World Cup. Wednesday against Panama.
“He is already in the United States and could play in Ghana’s other two Group L games against England and Croatia.
“His appeal was heard in a federal court in Ottawa, but a judge there dismissed it.
“Canadian authorities have not disclosed why they rejected the party’s visa application. We do know that in July 2025, he was charged with rape and a sexual assault in London.
“In September 2025, he pleaded not guilty to those charges. In February 2026, he was charged with two new counts of rape, and in April he pleaded not guilty to those charges.”
