The Canadian Federal Court has dismissed an emergency application by Black Stars deputy captain Thomas Partey to overturn a visa refusal and enter Canada ahead of Ghana’s opening match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In a ruling by Justice Lafrenière, the court said there was “no serious issue” with the decision made by Canadian immigration authorities to deny Partey entry into the country.
The judge said Partey did not prove that immigration officials ignored important evidence or made mistakes when deciding that he was not admissible to Canada.
“The totality of the reasons provided, which includes the GCMS notes, demonstrates there is no serious issue in the underlying refusal,” Justice Lafrenière said.
A key issue in the case was Partey’s failure to state in his visa application that he is facing multiple rape and sexual assault charges in the United Kingdom.
The court noted that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had specifically asked for information about the charges through a procedural fairness letter, informing him that his admissibility was being reviewed.
“The Applicant failed to disclose in his application that he is the subject of multiple criminal charges for sexual violence in the UK,” the judge wrote.
Justice Lafrenière also rejected Partey’s argument that the decision was unfair because he has not been convicted of any crime. The court said Canadian immigration law does not require a conviction if there are reasonable grounds to believe that a serious offence may have been committed.
“The fact that the Applicant has not been convicted of the serious criminal charges he is facing is irrelevant to the analysis,” the ruling stated.
The court also found that Partey had not shown that he would suffer irreparable harm. Although he argued that the decision could stop him from playing at the World Cup and damage his reputation, the judge said the evidence presented was too general and not convincing.
Justice Lafrenière added that any damage to Partey’s reputation mainly came from the criminal charges and not from the visa refusal.
The court further ruled that maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and applying its laws consistently was more important in this case.
Partey had asked the court for special relief that would have effectively required Canada to remove the inadmissibility finding and allow him to enter the country for the World Cup.
Although the application was dismissed, the judge acknowledged that Partey’s requests for reconsideration and a Temporary Resident Permit are time-sensitive and encouraged Canadian authorities to deal with them as quickly as possible.
The ruling leaves Partey’s chances of playing in Ghana’s World Cup opener against Panama in serious doubt.
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