Ex-Arsenal and Villarreal midfielder pleads not guilty to five charges of rape

Former Arsenal and current Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey has pleaded not guilty to five charges of rape and two counts of sexual assault over the period of 2021 and 2022. The 32-year-old appeared in court on Wednesday morning in London.

Partey, who left the Gunners after five years in July at the end of his contract, was charged in June, and signed for Villarreal in August. That occurred two days after he was granted bail by the Crown Court in the United Kingdom.

Partey pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges

The Ghana international remained behind after the Yellow Submarine’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, in order to attend his court summons. According to The Athletic, Partey pled not guilty to all charges brought by the two victims involved. The hearing took place at Southwark Crown Court, and the trial has been set for the second of November at the same place. Partey’s lawyers had previously indicated that they would be denying all charges, and ‘welcomed the chance to finally clear his name’.

Image via AFP

If Partey intends to be present during the trial, he will at least initially, depending on how long the proceedings take, then he is at risk of missing Villarreal’s clash against Rayo Vallecano (H), Pafos (A) and Espanyol (A), although that is of the least importance.

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Partey reception at Tottenham Hotspur stadium

Villarreal manager Marcelino Garcia Toral grew increasingly frustrated with the English press for drilling him on the decision to sign Partey, following the club line that he was innocent until proven guilty, and downplaying the importance of the matter in comparison to the game. Partey was loudly booed by the home crowd at Tottenham, and was met with chants of ‘Thomas Partey, you know what you are’. Partey is yet to comment publicly on the matter, and has played 151 minutes so far for the Yellow Submarine across five appearances.