After two and a half years of investigation by Scotland Yard, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) finally retained five rape heads and a chief of sexual assault against Thomas Partey, ex – Milieu d'Arsenal, on July 4, 2025. The timing almost turned to television fiasco: a few days earlier, on January 12, while the CPS was already examining a complete file received on January 8 Penalty under the hoots during a third round of FA Cup against Manchester United. The BBC commentators had to silence this “the least well -kept secret of football”, for lack of being able to legally identify the player before official indictment. Despite a salary of £ 200,000 per week and the media storm that was coming, Arsenal maintained Party in the heart of its eleven type. Between July 2022 – date of his initial arrest – and the announcement of the charges, he played nearly 100 games, including this poster against Manchester United and this shot to the goal in FA Cup.
In the stands, the accusing songs resounded over the matches, to the point that the broadcasters lowered the atmosphere to avoid any identification on the antenna. The club's strategy, now deemed morally wobbly, has not been offset by a trophy intended to appease supporters. Never has a leading athlete continued to evolve so long under police investigation. Partey missed a single friendly match in Germany after its first arrest, then played 40 games in 2022-23, participated in the 2022 World Cup with Ghana and, despite injuries, 19 other matches in 2023-24 before resuming its place the following season and scoring against Manchester City. In the wake of her business and other sensitive files, the Premier League has established compulsory training on sexual consent for players and staff – an implicit admission of the growing discomfort of English football.
A particular legal and sporting system!
If the Telegraph Sport was able to reveal on July 4, 2022 that a Premier League footballer was arrested for rape, it was not until the charge to pronounce the name of Party. The reason? The judgment “Bloomberg LP V ZXC” (Supreme Court, February 2022), which consecrates the “right to privacy” of people simply suspected: revealing their identity before indicted exposes the media to prosecution for privacy, as illustrated by the victory of Sir Cliff Richard against the BBC in 2018. Between financial risks and restrictive directives of the College of Policing, Fifteen years in a gray area where the public interest comes up against judges. The hearing set for August 5, 2025 before the Westminster court will be scrutinized in London, in Accra and throughout Europe.
Recruited in the summer of 2020 after shining at Atlético de Madrid (2016 C1 final, Europa Ligue 2018), Party had everything to embody the modern dream environment of Mikel Arteta. His dazzling progression – ready for Mallorca then Almería, ascent in Liga, record transfer to Arsenal – and his media life (marriage, breakup, engagement, birth of his first child) are now overshadowed by the prospect of a trial that could upset his career and force English football to rethink his management of criminal affairs involving his stars. The Partey case could mark a turning point for the management of alleged sexual violence in professional sport. It raises the question of the transparency, the moral duty of the clubs and the role of the media in the face of the limits of the right to information. While the trial is announced, the eyes are now turning to sports and judicial bodies, called upon to respond to a double challenge: restoring public confidence and guaranteeing that justice is rendered, without compromise or privileges.
