Ghana national football team coach Carlos Queiroz said he included Thomas Partey in the World Cup squad respecting the principle of the presumption of innocence, despite the former Arsenal player facing trial in London on multiple rape charges.
Partey, who currently plays for Villarreal, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which relate to the period from 2020 to 2025, while he was playing for Arsenal. The trial is due to begin in November or later this year.
"Let events take their course. Let the river flow and one day, when it flows into the ocean, we will know the truth," Queiroz said in Cardiff, where Ghana plays a friendly against Wales on Tuesday.
The experienced Portuguese expert, for whom this will be his fifth consecutive World Cup as a coach, criticized the haste of social media and the actions of the media.
"Today, not just Tomas, but all of us, are often convicted before we even get a chance to defend ourselves," said Queiroz.
When asked about the decision to call up Partija, the coach replied briefly: "If the player is here with me, then my answer is clear."
Queiroz added that there are much more serious issues in the world than the situation that is out of his control and stressed that he is trying to keep anything that could disrupt the team away from the dressing room.
Ghana will play in Group L at the World Cup. They open the competition with a match against Panama on June 17th, then face England, while they will finish the group stage with a duel against Croatia on June 27th.
Ghana will be appearing in the upcoming championship for the fifth time in the last six World Cups, and their greatest success came in 2010 in South Africa, when they were stopped in the quarter-finals after a dramatic defeat to Uruguay on penalties.
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