Carlos Queiroz kept Thomas Partey in Ghana FC's preliminary World Cup squad and defended the decision on the eve of a warm-up match in Cardiff, saying he had no doubts about selecting the 32-year-old midfielder who is back in the UK with the 28-man group.
The choice helps explain why searches for Ghana FC spiked this week: Partey, a high-profile former Arsenal midfielder now at Villarreal, is facing a raft of criminal allegations even as the Black Stars finalise preparations for a campaign that opens against Panama on 17 June in Group L.
Queiroz, who was appointed Black Stars boss in April, told reporters he stood by his selection. "If the player is here with me, my answer is clear," he said, later adding that he would not pass judgment on the legal process and urging people to "let the events run their normal course" until the truth emerges. The Ghana Football Association president, Kurt Okraku, has also said the governing body stands by Partey.
The decision is plainly consequential: Partey left Arsenal at the end of his contract last summer, now plays for Villarreal and is considered a central figure for Ghana as they prepare to face established opponents — including England in Group L — at the World Cup. Manchester City attacker Antoine Semenyo joined up with his international team-mates over the weekend, underlining that Queiroz is assembling experience ahead of a short but high-stakes window of friendlies and final squad choices.
But the selection also exposes a sharp contradiction. Partey has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, alleged to have involved four different women between 2020 and 2022, and he is due to stand trial next year. Those facts sit uneasily beside the coach's public endorsement and the governing body's statement of support, creating a legal cloud over a player who could figure in matches as soon as Tuesday in Cardiff.
The immediate calendar tightens the stakes. Ghana travel to Wales for a warm-up fixture on Tuesday, and Partey is listed among the 28 players in camp. The team then turns its attention to the World Cup, where Ghana will open against Panama on 17 June, a match that will test whether selectors and coaches keep a player facing serious criminal allegations in active contention for tournament minutes.
Queiroz framed his call as a footballing one: a player selected and available. The unresolved question now is operational and legal at once — will Partey be used on Tuesday in Cardiff, and will he be part of Ghana's matchday squads when the tournament begins on 17 June? Partey's plea of not guilty and the trial date next year mean those questions are unanswered, and Ghana's coaching staff must reconcile a selection that retains a midfielder of influence with the reputational and ethical pressure that will follow every appearance he makes.
For now, Partey is in the squad, Queiroz has publicly backed the decision, and Ghana's preparation continues under a coach who says football is "in the blood" for the country. The single immediate fact that matters to players, fans and officials alike is whether he steps onto the pitch in Cardiff on Tuesday — an answer that will shape the debate about his place in the team as the World Cup approaches.
