Partey faces World Cup boos as England weighs handshake

FA considers – Thomas Partey’s World Cup spot with Ghana has turned into a public test of football’s conscience after he was booed during a friendly against Wales at Cardiff City Stadium. With England preparing to play Ghana in Boston on June 23, the FA is considering whethe

Five minutes into Ghana’s friendly with Wales at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday evening, the boos started—then stopped just as quickly when the ball moved away from Ghana’s No 5.

Marvin Senaya. the Ghanaian right-back. had just slipped a pass inside to Thomas Partey. the big man in the yellow shirt. The noise hit immediately. When Partey’s quick pass out to the other wing freed the moment, the booing eased. It returned the instant the ball came back to him—this time from Gideon Mensah on the left—and grew louder with every touch.

Twenty-five minutes later, the loudest reaction came when Daniel James ran at him. Partey slid in and swiped James’s legs out from under him. A yellow card followed, a few cheers arrived, and then the switch flipped again. Even in a stadium that was two-thirds empty, the temperature rose.

It’s a strange time for Partey—and an even stranger time to watch him play football.

Because this summer, the conversation around him won’t stay in Cardiff. Partey has been picked for Ghana’s squad at the World Cup. and on June 23 he will most likely be in the starting line-up against England in Boston. That’s when the handshakes—or the decision not to—could become part of the story.

The FA is considering whether England players will shake Partey’s hand, according to reports on Tuesday. The decision matters not just symbolically. but emotionally. because Partey’s name is now public in a way it wasn’t during the years Arsenal and much of the wider football world tried to keep the focus on football alone.

There’s also the reality that Partey is not arriving as an outsider to England. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have known him through the Arsenal years—Rice and Saka were teammates with Partey at the club until last June.

But in Ghana, the “elephant in the room” is hard to ignore. Partey’s legal case has dragged on across multiple stages and filings. In July last year, he was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. Two new counts of rape were added in February, spanning allegations involving four women. Partey has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and it is for a jury to decide. It is possible they won’t reach a decision until early 2027.

The timing is what keeps football trapped in a kind of limbo.

Partey says he knows the drill well enough: he was first arrested in connection with the matters in July 2022. Back then. the identity was kept from the public for legal reasons. and he was referred to as a “mystery footballer.” Yet the article makes plain that the identity became an open secret anyway—among fans and within his club at the time. Arsenal. A protest group set up a stall outside the Emirates Stadium on matchday. targeting Partey being picked week to week by Mikel Arteta.

In many workplaces, a suspension from duty would have been expected while serious offences sit under police investigation. Football has often moved to its own rhythm, and Partey’s experience at Arsenal was part of that difference. Arteta played him 12 days after the first arrest in 2022 and used him in 52 games across the 2024–25 campaign. which was Partey’s final season before his contract expired.

Even after that, the quiet around his departure stood out. Arteta had been vocal about wanting to extend Partey’s deal that season. but there was nothing on Arsenal’s website when Partey left on June 30. 2025. The club promoted a deal with a new beer partner. but said nothing on the exit of a first-teamer Arteta had described as ‘exceptional’ just six weeks earlier.

The charges arrived days after Partey departed, and he now plays for Villarreal.

Ghana’s own approach appears to mirror a similar insistence on waiting for the courts. Carlos Queiroz, Ghana’s manager, put it plainly in Wales. “It’s a simple and basic answer. As far as I know. in England. in Portugal. whatever. until the court makes a decision. the presumption of innocence is on the side of all court cases. ” he said.

Queiroz added: “This is not for me or you to make a judgment about. Let the river flow and one day when the river meets the ocean we are going to find the truth.”

Not everyone buys that patience. Some see it as a coach needing a good midfielder, others as something closer to babbling brook nonsense. Welsh fans, the piece notes, will not be the last to take a harsher view.

In Cardiff, the reaction was immediate, and it followed Partey’s every movement. Five minutes in, the stadium had decided—at least for now—that football doesn’t erase what comes after the whistle.

Thomas Partey Ghana Wales friendly Cardiff City Stadium World Cup 2026 England FA handshake decision Marvin Senaya Gideon Mensah Daniel James Carlos Queiroz Mikel Arteta Arsenal Villarreal Declan Rice Bukayo Saka