The Ghanaian government has formally submitted an official note of protest to Ottawa after Canada denied a World Cup entry visa to Black Stars midfielder Thomas Partey.
According to a report by The Guardian, the diplomatic friction arose because Canadian immigration officials blocked the 32-year-old Villarreal player due to pending criminal proceedings in Britain, where he faces allegations of rape and sexual assault. Partey, who has pleaded not guilty, is currently with his national squad at their base camp in the United States but remains legally barred from entering Canadian territory.
Consequently, soccer's governing body, FIFA, confirmed that the key midfielder cannot travel to Toronto for Ghana's opening Group L match against Panama on Wednesday. However, US authorities permitted his entry, meaning he remains eligible for subsequent group matches in Massachusetts and Philadelphia.
In an official social media statement released by Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the West African nation described the entry refusal as "high-handed and extremely unfair". The ministry explicitly challenged the legal framework of the decision, noting that the reliance on unproven charges without a prior judicial conviction "raises fundamental questions of fairness and proportionality".
Conversely, Canadian authorities firmly stood by their border enforcement protocols. An official statement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated that hosting a premier international tournament does not reshape local border policies. The IRCC maintained that "every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually, based on the facts available and the law that applies".