Former Arsenal player Thomas Partey faces boos and chants from Tottenham fans on eve of his court appearance for rape charges.
The 32-year-old, who denies five rape counts against two women and one sexual assault charge against a third, entered in the 77th minute.
When Partey was subbed on for Villarreal team-mate Santi Comesaña, TNT Sports commentator Jon Champion said: “And now, to a rather different soundtrack, the arrival of Thomas Partey. The circumstances of Partey’s appearance have been well documented and his reception reflects that.”
“She said NO Thomas!”
Thomas Partey came on to a horrible reception from the Spurs fans last night😬 pic.twitter.com/CcQUkqxmK8
— The 44 ⚽️ (@The_Forty_Four) September 17, 2025
Thomas Partey, you know what you are! pic.twitter.com/TjQIMlCKXe
— Alex (@mralexthfc) September 16, 2025
The welcome for Thomas Partey pic.twitter.com/rEfGlQfWhK
— La Liga & Beyond (@laligaandbeyond) September 16, 2025
A plea hearing at Southwark Crown Court saw Partey deny raping two women and sexually assaulting a third woman.
He pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one charge of sexual assault, the alleged offences taking place between 2021 and 2022.
Partey spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and his not guilty pleas during the hearing and has been granted bail until his trial, which is due to start at the same court on the 2nd of November next year.
The footballer was charged four days after his exit from Arsenal when his contract expired at the end of June.
There was initial protests by Villarreal fans, while the club’s manager Marcelino backed his mental readiness, the club upholds presumption of innocence.
Villarreal said on Partey earlier in the summer: “The club respects the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence and will await the outcome of the judicial process, which will be responsible for clarifying the facts of the case. Due to the law in England in relation to the ongoing proceedings the club is unable to comment further.”
Partey’s lawyer says he “denies all the charges against him” and added he welcomes “the opportunity to finally clear his name.”
Thomas Partey attends court hearing over rape charges#Southwark Crown Court pic.twitter.com/NjilRLPQuo
— Don Summer (@donsummerone) September 17, 2025
Here’s Thomas Partey arriving at Southwark Crown Court ahead of this morning’s plea hearing. Set to start at 10am. Updates to follow.
Credit – PA pic.twitter.com/LbTkGXhx1D
— Sam Truelove (@samtruelove1) September 17, 2025
The game itself was a winning start for Spurs, and in fact their first victory on their first Champions League appearance since 2022-23
Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior fumbled the ball into his own net just four minutes into match with it proving to be the decisive goal.
It is also Thomas Frank’s first match managing in the Champions League, but there is still plenty of work to be done, while his side were sloppy, the defence shone.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank, said to the media:
“Doing the tough job, that gives you a top opportunity to win games and we have proven that so far.
“I thought it was a big win. In any competition it’s good to get three points and get a good start. I’m happy with that.
“I’m happy with the clean sheet and happy with the defensive side of the game. I think we were extremely good and limited Villarreal to very little throughout the game.
“Obviously offensively we struggled on the day to create something against a good team. It was a very even game that we edged in the end.
“What I like is that our foundation is strong. Now we are four games won, three in the Premier League and one in the Champions League, and we have four clean sheets which is massive.”
Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven, speaking to Amazon Prime: “I think it was a tough one, not an easy one. We didn’t play well but it was an important one.
“We had a really good start and of course you want to build on that, but Villarreal are a really difficult team to play against. Every time on the counter attack, they keep the strikers forward, they’re really dangerous.
“Of course you want to build on the 1-0 at the start of the game but at the end we got the three points and that’s the most important.”
On his foul late in the game which earned him a yellow card: “Of course, you never know what the referee is going to do in that moment. I think because I went for the ball it’s not a red card. I haven’t seen it back properly so I can’t say what I think at the moment.”
Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall added: “It was really tough. Villarreal did a great performance but a 1-0 win at home is amazing.
“We talk a lot about ‘clean sheet mentality’ and they did not have a shot on target, so we did a really good job.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login