Sky Sports looks at the most important questions about the case of Thomas Partey, the former Arsenal player accused of several counts of rape and sexual violence.
What has Pedey been accused of?
Thomas Partey was accused on July 4 of five counts of rape and one count of sexual violence, against three different women.
Two of those counts of rape are against one complainant, three further counts of rape against a second complainant, and the complaint against sexual violence would have been committed against a third party.
All the incidents reportedly took place between 2021 and 2022. Pedey has denied all the charges against him.
A statement from Parey's lawyer said: “Thomas Partey denies all the charges against him. He has fully cooperated with the police and CPS during their three -year investigation. He now welcomes the opportunity to finally erase his name.”
Why did it take so long before charges would be instituted?
Pedey was first arrested on suspicion of rape three years ago in July 2022. The metropolitan police have since conducted a full investigation.
Sky Sports News has discovered that the first report on the case was passed on from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service on 27 December 2024 – 18 months after Pedey was initially arrested.
After further investigation, an updated file was submitted to the CPS in April in April. Two months later, Pareny was charged.
Resting cases are some of the most difficult criminal cases to prosecute, and the CPS will only charge someone if they believe that there is a “realistic possibility of conviction” when all the evidence for a jury is placed.
It was only if the CPS had assessed the police evidence against Pedey in April that they felt that this threshold had been reached and there was sufficient information to accuse him with the alleged crimes.
Two months ago, Rape crisis published statistics that showed that 71,227 cases of rape had been reported to the police in 2024. The charity institution believes that many more attacks are not reported.
Conviction rates in England and Wales for rape and sexual violence are among the lowest for every crime – only 2.7 percent of those 70,000+ cases ended with a suspect that was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Research into sexual crimes can often be long and sensitive processes.
Was it a coincidence that Pedey was charged just a few days after his arsenal contract had passed?
The timing of the charges – less than a week after his contract with Arsenal had expired – has been the subject of intense discussion about social media.
There has been no further comments from the with Police or the CPS, which are forbidden to make a statement as soon as a lawsuit is “active” – ​​and when it will probably end in a court case.
But the CPS is, more importantly, independent of the police and only makes its assessment decisions based on the evidence it sees. The CPS never changes its time scales to match a suspect, or to match their labor priorities.
As soon as the CPS is satisfied, there is a “realistic prospect of conviction”, it will result in an indictment or a series of charges. That is exactly what happened in the case of Partey.
The police can accelerate their investigation for a number of reasons – one of which could be possible because a suspect can have plans to leave the country in the future, and they find it difficult to get the individual to the UK to undertake future charges.
But there is no suggestion that is the case with Pedey, even though the Ghana International is now free to become a member of another club worldwide, after the expiry of his arsenal contract.
Why could Pedey not be mentioned before he was charged?
According to British legislation, the alleged victims of sexual crimes have the right to lifelong anonymity under the law: they cannot be identified at any stage – even if the accused person is ultimately not found guilty.
People who are arrested and accused of sexual crimes, on the other hand, are not granted anonymity.
In February 2022, however, the UK Supreme Court ruled that a person who is under investigation has a reasonable expectation of privacy prior to an indictment.
That led to a huge change in how the media reported high -profile persons investigated by the police, for fear that the newspaper or broadcaster could be charged for violating the privacy of that person.
And so, although the accusations against Pedey were known and openly discussed on social media, Sky Sports News – such as other established broadcasters and news organizations – could not do this.
That led to a bizarre situation in which some opposing fans could be heard in stadiums who taunt Pedey during Arsenal matches with references to his police investigation, although he could not be mentioned in the media.
After he had been charged, the media was allowed to identify Pedey at that time without the risk of retaliation and reported what he was accused of.
Why didn't Arsenal Partey suspend?
This is an important question, and in the end it is a decision that can only answer Arsenal. They haven't done that yet.
As the employer of Parey, the club had a duty of care about him and an obligation to treat him honestly – everyone in this country is considered innocent, unless they have been guilty in a court.
But the club also had a duty of care compared to other employees, and sometimes in the law – the rights of one party could be contrary to the rights of another.
Sky Sports News has been told that Arsenal did follow the legal advice that they had given from the moment Pedey was arrested for the first time – including ensuring that there were sufficient security procedures to reassure other Arsenal members of the staff.
The legal and moral obligations of an employer when it comes to accusations of sexual crimes against an employee are far from clear.
In the case of controversial persons, a company (or football club) will weigh a number of factors before they decide whether they should suspend.
One of the considerations is the reputation of the club. How harmful would it be if a player was convicted of a sexual crime and his club decided not to suspend them until they were legally obliged to do that? How would such a decision be viewed by, for example, the female fans of that club?
The legal principle is that everyone accused of a crime must be treated equally and fairly. Ask yourself this question: If an office employee is arrested on suspicion of rape, they must be treated differently than someone in the public eye – such as a pop star or a professional football player?
The law says no – everyone must be treated the same. But for a football club, the decision to suspend a player or not is a much more complicated decision.
Manchester City decided to suspend Benjamin Mendy without a wage when he was accused of several counts of sexual violence in August 2021.
Mendy was then acquitted of all those charges against him in July 2023, and then took the city to an employment tribunal. Mendy eventually won £ 11 million compensation from the club, to cover his lost wage for the two years while he was suspended.
If Arsenal had decided to suspend Pedey when he was first arrested in 2022 – and if he was convicted of no crime, the North London club could have been confronted that extends to tens of pounds.
Why did Arsenal contract open Renewal Talks with Partey?
Sky Sports News reported in April that Arsenal had opened conversations with Pedey through a new contract.
When asked if he wanted Parey to stay ahead of the last match of Arsenal of the season in May, Mikel Arteta said: “Yes … he is a very important player for us.”
And at the beginning of June, when Arsenal announced their held list, the club confirmed that they were still talking to Partey about a possible new deal.
There was no comment from Arsenal about why they negotiated with Pedey while he was still questioned.
What has Arsenal said since Pedey was sued?
Now that Pidey has been charged, there is very little that Arsenal can say publicly. A spokesperson for Arsenal said: “The player's contract ended on 30 June. Due to current legal proceedings, the club cannot comment on the case.”
The football club and the Premier League refused to comment.
Detective head inspector Andy Furphy, who leads the research for the with Police, said: “Our priority continues to support the women who have emerged.
“We would ask everyone who was struck by this case, or anyone who has information, to talk to our team. You can contact investigators about this study by sending an e -mail to [email protected]”
What happens afterwards?
Partey is planned to appear on Tuesday 5 August on Westminster Magistrates Court to answer the six charges against him. It will probably be 2026 before his case could be heard in a full lawsuit.
In the meantime, the 32-year-old is free to continue his gaming career, if he can find a new club that wants to sign him for a free transfer but every future employer will also know that he has been accused of six counts of rape and sexual attack.