Ghana Takes Canada to Court Over Partey Visa Refusal
Ghana’s World Cup plans have been dragged into a courtroom battle in Ottawa, with the government formally challenging Canada’s refusal to grant midfielder Thomas Partey a visa.
The 33-year-old is set to miss Ghana’s World Cup opener against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday after being denied entry, a decision that has triggered a sharp diplomatic and legal response from Accra.
A star sidelined before kick-off
Partey’s absence is not down to injury or form. It stems from ongoing criminal proceedings in the UK, where he 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. He is due to stand trial next year.
Canadian authorities have blocked his entry on that basis, a move Ghana’s government has branded “high-handed and extremely unfair”. For a side built around his experience and authority in midfield, the timing is brutal.
Legal fight in Ottawa
The case will be heard in court in Ottawa at 14:00 BST (09:00 eastern time), with Ghana seeking a narrow, time-bound solution: permission for Partey to enter Canada briefly to play in the match against Panama.
Ghana has also asked the court to order Canadian immigration officials to allow the former Arsenal player to submit a fresh visa application, hoping to carve out a legal path that separates his immediate football duties from the longer, complex criminal process in the UK.
How long that will take is anyone’s guess. It is unclear how quickly the court will rule, or whether any decision will come in time to affect Ghana’s preparations for Wednesday.
Diplomatic pressure joins legal push
The legal move is not Ghana’s only play. Foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has confirmed that the country is also pursuing diplomatic channels in an attempt to secure a Canadian visa for Partey.
It underlines how central the midfielder remains to Ghana’s ambitions. This is no fringe squad member; this is a senior figure around whom game plans are usually written.
For now, though, Partey waits, Ghana adjusts, and a World Cup opener hangs in the balance of a Canadian courtroom.
