Ghana’s government on Saturday called Canada’s decision to deny midfielder Thomas Partey a visa for his country’s World Cup game against Panama next week “high-handed and extremely unfair”.
The West African nation’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it understood the decision to be based on pending criminal proceedings in Britain.
The 32-year-old Partey, a former Arsenal midfielder who now plays for Villarreal, faces allegations of rape and sexual assault in Britain. He has denied the charges.
Partey is with the rest of the Ghana squad in Boston and will be eligible to play in their subsequent Group L matches against England in that city and versus Croatia in Philadelphia.
Ghana’s foreign ministry said it had dispatched an official note of protest on Thursday requesting that Canada review its decision.
“The Government of the Republic of Ghana expresses strong reservations following the high-handed and extremely unfair decision by Canada,” the statement said.
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.”
A spokesperson for Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said on Friday that the country has been consistent that hosting major events does not change immigration laws.
“Every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually, based on the facts available and the law that applies,” the spokesperson said.
World soccer’s governing body FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes of host countries.
Partey’s case is the latest immigration-related controversy to flare at the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The U.S. refused entry this week to Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who had been due to officiate at the tournament. An official from President Donald Trump’s administration said U.S. authorities had discovered “association with suspected members of terror organizations”.
Upon returning to Somalia, Artan described the visa decision as a matter of “fate” and urged fellow Somalis not to lose heart over it.