CARDIFF — Ghana coach Carlos Quieroz included Thomas Partey in the national squad for a pre-World Cup warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff on Tuesday, defending the midfielder's selection despite pending criminal charges. Partey has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022, and is due to stand trial next year.
Partey, aged 32, was named in Ghana's preliminary World Cup squad and has trained as part of the 28-man team that faced Wales—the first match under Quieroz’s management since his appointment as Ghana national team boss in April. Quieroz dismissed questions about the decision to include Partey, stating, "If the player is here with me, my answer is clear. I don't have any comments about my own decisions. He is here so what are we talking about? This is not for me or you to make a judgement about. Let the events run their normal course; let the river flow and one day when the river meets the ocean we are going to find the truth."
Ghana Football Association president Kurt Okraku previously expressed support for Partey, saying the governing body stood by the player. Partey, who plays for Spanish side Villarreal after leaving Arsenal at the end of his contract last summer, remains an active member of the squad as legal proceedings continue.
Quieroz, a former Portugal and Real Madrid manager who also served as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, emphasized his focus on football ahead of the World Cup. "When you talk about football in Ghana, it is in the blood, it is everything. And the talent is here so it is an explosive combination to succeed, which was the first and most important attraction to Ghana. We're ready to take off and start to fly straight to the World Cup," he said.