AN APPEAL against the decision to deny Ghana’s Thomas Partey a Canadian visa for the World Cup has failed – with court documents revealing the initial visa application did not disclose the criminal charges he faces in Britain.

An application for a temporary resident visa (TRV) was made on May 21, but in answer to a question about whether Partey had ever committed, been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any criminal offence in any country, the response provided was “No.”

The 33-year-old former Arsenal midfielder denies seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022, and is due to stand trial next year.

A letter addressed to Partey from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sent on May 25 set out concerns about whether his application had met the requirement to “answer truthfully.”

It also stated he may be inadmissible for a temporary resident visa under a section of legislation covering misrepresentation.

The federal court, in its ruling on Tuesday dismissing the motion, noted that the response to that letter and Partey’s affidavit to the court “fail to acknowledge, let alone explain why this material information was missing in his application.”

Documentation concerning the charges was sent to the IRCC by the Ghana FA on May 27. Ghana faced Panama in Toronto last night without midfielder. Partey has been granted a United States visa.

The court found that the officer who denied Partey a visa had not erred in law by basing the decision to refuse on an unproven offence.

The Ghana FA has been contacted for comment.