Thomas Partey Transfer Fees and How Arsenal Have Handled It
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Main Themes and Key Information:
- The Charges and Timing:
Thomas Partey is facing “five charges of rape and one count of sexual assault charges, which Party have denied.”
He had been expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court the same day in connection with the allegations.
Partey was first arrested on rape allegations in July 2022.
The charges are brought “a few days after his Arsenal contract expires,” which “causes quite a bit of conversation on social media” and “conspiracy theories” about the timing.
But football correspondent Rob Dorset dismisses this as a “conspiracy theory and there’s no evidence in it at all”. “Arsenal Football Club cannot influence the decisions of the Metropolitan Police or the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is independent and will only bring a prosecution where it believes there to be “a realistic prospect of conviction”.
A police investigation was opened in July 2022, a file handed to the CPS “just after Christmas in 2024” and a subsequent file delivered in April formed the basis for the action taken by the CPS.
It is “entirely possible for the police to expedite an investigation if they believe the individual is about to leave the country”, a situation that one suspects may be pertinent given that Partey’s contract is expiring, but “there has been no such suggestion” in Partey’s situation. - Arsenal’s decision not to suspend Partey Earlier:
The big question was, “Why didn’t Arsenal suspend him then [in 2022]?”
Arsenal had no comment on the matter, which will now be sent to court, “likely in 2026.”
Arsenal, as an employer, was in a “really difficult role” with “conflicting rights to look after.”
Their “duty of care is to the person who’s been arrested because they are innocent until proven guilty.”
It also had an “obligation to its other employees” and Arsenal “did follow all of the legal advice they were given right from the point of arrest in 2022, and they made sure that safeguarding was in place to reassure other members of staff”.
One of the things that interested me was the, quote-unquote, “financial” angle. Citing the example of Benjamin Mendy, whom Manchester City suspended when charged and later exonerated, the source said that he then “took Manchester City to court and won 11 million pounds in unpaid wages as damages.”
The outlet is suggesting that any suspension on Partey there and then would have ‘potentially have cost Arsenal tens of millions of pounds in any legal claim that ended up going their way if Thomas Partey were to be found not guilty eventually.’
It’s not just a money thing, albeit it is by far the most lucrative part of the game for teams, but it is a “very, very complex situation for any employer”.
“It’s clear Arsenal have been criticised for what they have done and it’s only going to come under more and more scrutiny I suspect right up until we go into a court case.
- Party’s Current Status and Future:
Thomas Partey “denies any wrongdoing.”
Since then, he has been a “32-year-old free agent.”
“He’s there to be used now, and anyone who wants to use him now will certainly be conscious that he has five counts of very serious sexual assault hanging over him.