Carlos Queiroz defended his decision to include Thomas Partey in his Ghana squad which faces Wales on Tuesday in their final warmup match before the World Cup.
The former Arsenal midfielder, who now plays for Villarreal in Spain, has been charged with seven counts of rape and one of sexual assault in London between 2020 and 2022.
Partey denies all the charges and a trial has been set for November this year, although it could be delayed until 2027.
Ghana boss Queiroz has named Partey in a provisional 28-man World Cup squad, which he trimmed to 26 players later on Monday, and the 32-year-old could play in the United Kingdom for the first time — in Cardiff — since his court appearance last September.
“It’s a simple and basic answer,” said Queiroz, 73, about his decision to name Partey for the Wales friendly. “As far as I know, in England, in Portugal, whatever, we are living in this world, until the court makes a decision, that the presumption of innocence is on the side of all court cases.
“But today and this is not only about Thomas, very unfortunately the way the social media and the media sometimes act with full and total impunity, we are condemned even before we have the opportunity to defend.”
Ghana, who have Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo, Coventry striker Brandon Thomas-Asante and Leicester attacker Jordan Ayew in their ranks, are in the same World Cup group as England.
In a match that will mark the 150th anniversary of the Football of Wales and is also the first time the Dragons have met African opposition at home, Ghana were more than willing to meet British opposition before taking on Thomas Tuchel’s side in Boston on June 23.
“It is an honour for us to be here and to play against the national team of Wales,” said Queiroz, who was Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant at Manchester United and coached Iran at the last World Cup. He will be in charge of Ghana for the first time after being appointed in April.
“For us, it is important because it is part of our World Cup preparation. Everything has gone according to our goals and we are ready for takeoff and to go to the World Cup.
“I know from my experience that when we play great football, we have a great chance to win. So this is what we want to try to do against Wales and we want to express ourselves in this game.”
Along with their match against England, Ghana opens Group L play against Panama on June 17 in Toronto and will also face Croatia.
Full Ghana Squad:
Goalkeepers: Benjamin Asare (Accra Hearts of Oak SC), Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St Gallen), Joseph Anang (St Patrick’s Athletic), Solomon Agbasi (Accra Hearts of Oak SC), Paul Reverson (Ajax)
Defenders: Baba Abdul Rahman (PAOK), Gideon Mensah (Auxerre), Marvin Senaya (Auxerre), Alidu Seidu (Rennes), Abdul Mumin (Rayo Vallecano), Jerome Opoku (Istanbul Basaksehir), Jonas Adjetey (Wolfsburg), Kojo Oppong Peprah (Nice), Alexander Djiku (Spartak Moscow), Elisha Owusu (Auxerre)
Midfielders: Thomas Partey (Villarreal), Kwasi Sibo (Real Oviedo), Augustine Boakye (Saint-Etienne), Caleb Yirenkyi (Nordsjaelland), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Leicester City)
Forwards: Kamaldeen Sulemana (Atalanta), Christopher Bonsu Baah (Al Qadsiah), Ernest Nuamah (Lyon), Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City), Brandon Thomas-Asante (Coventry City), Prince Kwabena Adu (Viktoria Plzen), Iñaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Jordan Ayew (Leicester City)
Information from PA was used in this report.
