Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 23

Djed Spence Appears to Snub Thomas Partey Handshake as Ghana Midfielder Faces 8 Charges

Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 23

Djed Spence Appears to Snub Thomas Partey Handshake as Ghana Midfielder Faces 8 Charges

Q: One World Cup, two borders: Why was a player barred by Canada welcomed into the US?

Thomas Partey was turned away by Canada but admitted to the United States because the two host countries applied different immigration rules and reached different judgments on his case. Canada denied him entry after border officials said he falsely stated he had never been arrested or charged, despite the pending UK criminal case. Under Canadian immigration law, misrepresentation can itself be grounds for refusal, separate from the underlying allegations. Canadian authorities also stressed that hosting the World Cup does not override normal admissibility rules. The United States took a different approach. US Customs and Border Protection said Partey had not been convicted of a crime and had been issued a visa, so he was allowed in for the Boston match. That reflects a key distinction in US practice: while serious criminal convictions can make a foreign national inadmissible, an arrest or pending charges do not automatically do so. Admission decisions still involve discretion, but there is also a longstanding carve-out for athletes and team personnel traveling for major international events such as the World Cup. So the difference was not that one country ignored the allegations and the other did not. It was that Canada appears to have acted on an alleged false declaration at the border, while the US relied on the fact that Partey has no conviction and held a valid visa. FIFA, for its part, does not control host-country immigration decisions.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 23

Footage from Boston appeared to show England full-back Djed Spence bypassing a pre-match handshake with Ghana's Thomas Partey before their World Cup group game.
Partey, 33, was booed when his name was announced and jeered on touches in his first appearance of the tournament after missing Ghana's opener.
The midfielder missed Ghana's 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto after Canada denied him entry, saying he had falsely stated he had never been arrested or charged.
Partey has pleaded not guilty to seven rape charges and one sexual-assault count tied to allegations by four women from 2020 to 2022, with trial scheduled for next year.
BBC Sport said England's Football Association had not discussed the handshake with players before the match, while US authorities had still admitted Partey on a visa.