Ghana boss Queiroz no qualms over Partey selection

Ghana boss Queiroz no qualms over Partey selection

ByChris WathanBBC Sport Wales

• Published1 June 2026

Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz says he has no concerns selecting former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey for the World Cup.

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. He is due to stand trial next year.

The 32-year-old, now with Spanish side Villarreal, is back in the UK as part of a 28-man squad facing Wales in a warm-up match in Cardiff on Tuesday.

Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kurt Okraku previously said the governing body stood by Partey, who joined Arsenal in 2020 before leaving at the end of his contract last summer.

Asked if he had concerns over the selection, Queiroz said: “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.”

International friendly: Wales v Ghana

Tuesday, 2 June; 19:45 BST

Cardiff City Stadium

Live on BBC iPlayer, BBC One Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and Sports Extra, BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary.

• Partey in preliminary Ghana squad for World Cup
  • Published2 June

• Former Arsenal player denies two new counts of rape

  • Published13 April

Partey has trained as part of a Ghana side that will play for the first time under Queiroz, who was named Black Stars boss in April.

Manchester City attacker Antoine Semenyo joined up with his international team-mates over the weekend.

Ghana will face England in Group L at the World Cup, with the 2010 quarter-finalists opening their campaign against Panama on 17 June.

Queiroz, a former Portugal and Real Madrid manager as well as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, said he was excited about the prospect.

“When you talk about football in Ghana, it is in the blood, it is everything,” he said.

“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.”

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