FORMER Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was heavily booed by England fans and Djed Spence appeared to snub a handshake with the Ghana international ahead of their World Cup clash on Tuesday.

Videos on social media appeared to show the Tottenham defender refuse to put his hand out to the 33-year-old after the national anthems were sung.

Partey returned to the Black Stars’ starting XI after missing last week’s game with Panama in Toronto. He was denied entry to Canada having been charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in London between 2020 and 2022.

Partey told officials in the host country that he had never been arrested or charged with a crime. He denies all charges and will attempt to clear his name at a trial next summer.

But England fans seemed unwilling to forget and were hostile towards him from the start, booing as his name was read out ahead of kick-off.

He was also jeered when he was on the ball in the opening five minutes of the game.

England boss Thomas Tuchel was stopped from answering a question on the issue after the game, but Ghana counterpart Carlos Quieroz said it was important to keep politics outside of the game.