Thomas Partey pleads not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault

Thomas Partey has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against three women.

The 32-year-old was charged with each of the counts in July, following an investigation that first started in February 2022.

The allegations against the Ghanaian midfielder relate to three separate women who reported incidents which took place between 2021 and 2022, when Partey was playing for Arsenal.

Partey appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday and a trial date has been set at the same venue for November 2, 2026.

He is not prevented from playing football under his bail conditions, but must inform police of any international travel 24 hours in advance, and must not contact the complainants, directly or indirectly.

Partey joined Spanish club Villarreal in August, following the expiration of his contract at Arsenal, and played in London on Tuesday night in the Spanish side’s Champions League tie at Tottenham Hotspur.

It was the first time the footballer had played in England since these serious allegations came to light. The police investigation began in February 2022 and Partey continued playing for Arsenal until expiry of his contract at the end of June but, under UK law, he was not publicly named until charges were brought on July 5, the week after his contract ended at the Premier League club.

Partey appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 5 and was granted conditional bail. Two days later, he signed for Spanish top-flight side Villarreal as a free agent on a one-year contract, with an option for a further 12 months.

Partey made 167 appearances for Arsenal after joining from Atletico Madrid in a €50million (now £42.7m; $57.3m) transfer in October 2020. A Ghana international, he has 53 caps for his country, including featuring at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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(Photo: Carlos Jasso/AFP)

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