Former Arsenal and current Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey has appeared in a London crown court to formally deny two additional allegations of rape, adding to a long list of existing sexual offence charges he already faces.
The 32-year-old Ghana international entered his pleas during a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, rejecting claims that he raped the same woman twice in London back in December 2020. This development comes nine months after Partey was first charged with five other counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, accusations connected to separate incidents that allegedly occurred between 2021 and 2022. The footballer has already maintained his innocence over those earlier charges as well.
In total, Partey now faces seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault involving four separate alleged victims. Judge Tony Baumgartner, Recorder of Westminster, granted a prosecution request to group all charges together for a single combined trial.
Originally, the trial was scheduled to commence in November 2025, but the addition of the two new charges has pushed the potential start date back to January 2027. No official confirmation of the new timeline has been finalized yet, however, with further procedural steps scheduled in the coming months.
During the court appearance, Partey dressed in a smart casual outfit consisting of dark grey trousers, a black jumper layered over a white collared shirt, and polished black shoes. He only spoke briefly during the 30-minute hearing to confirm his full name and state his not guilty pleas to the two new charges. The former Arsenal captain was absent from an earlier preliminary hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, when the new charges were first brought before a judge, but his legal representation had already indicated that he would plead not guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Partey has been granted bail throughout the duration of the pre-trial and trial process, with a primary condition that he makes no contact directly or indirectly with any of the four alleged victims. Other standard bail conditions also remain in place.
A high-profile transfer signing for Arsenal in 2020, Partey moved to the Gunners from Atletico Madrid for a fee reported to be around £45 million. He left Arsenal last summer to join Spanish La Liga side Villarreal on a permanent transfer. The 32-year-old is currently expected to be part of Ghana’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to take place later this year in North America.
Partey is scheduled to appear next for a pre-trial review hearing at the same court on 14 May 2025, where further procedural details for the upcoming trial will be finalized.