For more than three years, Thomas Partey played for Arsenal after being accused of very serious sexual offences.

“You can’t get away from Arsenal,” says one of the women who made allegations against him, referencing the huge impact of the Premier League club with fans all around the world.

She watched him play knowing that this was a choice the club had consciously made – to let him play on despite the huge legal and moral questions about how appropriate it was for Partey to continue to represent the club.

Partey, 32, left Arsenal on the expiration of his contract on June 30, having made 167 appearances for the club he joined in October 2020 from Atletico Madrid for a fee of £45 million (now $61 million).

Four days later, he was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The alleged offences are reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022 and relate to three women. Partey denies all the charges and his lawyer, Jenny Wiltshire of Hickman and Rose, said in a statement her client welcomed “the opportunity to finally clear his name.”

Arsenal are a club that takes pride in its adherence to the rules, for example, the financial laws which govern the game. It is one of the core principles of the club.

They are not the first football club at which a player has been accused of sexual offences and they will not be the last. The court process will decide whether he is guilty or not but questions are now being asked about how Partey’s former club handled the accusations against the midfielder, and the impact of their decisions: on fans of the club and the women who complained.

Partey could not be named publicly under UK law until he was charged, while those who report alleged sexual offences are entitled to anonymity for life. That is also why comments are turned off on this article. But the world of social media does not play by the same rules.

Every time Partey played for Arsenal, one alleged victim says she received online abuse. Sometimes it was directed at her; other times, it was people talking in general and derogatory terms about Partey’s accusers.

“I would frequently get messages from fans,” she says. “They’d send me pictures of him playing or scoring… I would get death threats, rape threats, people saying they’d set me on fire. If he scored, for example, the abuse would be worse.”

In this report, The Athletic can detail:

• In August 2021, Partey was reported to police for the first time.
• In September 2021, Arsenal were contacted by one woman to make them aware of the traumatic experiences she said she had with Partey.
• Arsenal were also subsequently contacted by the police to inform them that Partey was being investigated for serious sexual offences.
• Arsenal were aware that the Crown Prosecution Service — which decides whether cases should be prosecuted — was in the process of making its charging decision when they entered into talks with Partey about a new contract earlier this year.

Arsenal said in a statement: “The player’s contract ended on June 30. Due to ongoing legal proceedings, the club is unable to comment on the case.”

Here, The Athletic examines what Arsenal knew when, and whether, realistically, based on legal guidance, they could have done anything differently.

Should they have continued to play Partey? Were there other options? Why did they enter in discussions about extending his contract earlier this year? And how did that make people feel?

Partey was first reported to police in 2021. The complainant’s next step was to inform his club of the allegations.

“It’s Arsenal,” she reasoned. “They won’t just ignore it.”

She initially wrote to the club’s safeguarding team, who passed her on to the legal department. Arsenal’s response was that they were following all the requisite safeguarding legislation, given she was not under 18.

She also alerted the English Football Association, which gave a similar response and said her claims fell outside of the FA’s safeguarding remit. When contacted by The Athletic, the FA said that on account of the ongoing and live criminal investigation, it is not in a position to comment.

In her dialogue with Arsenal, which took place over phone and email, she occasionally felt that those she engaged with – including some of the club’s senior figures – did not show an appropriate degree of sympathy.

Arsenal were later informed by the Metropolitan Police that Partey was being investigated for serious sexual offences. Throughout the remainder of Partey’s time with Arsenal – and their contract negotiations earlier this summer – the club were aware that there was a possibility charges would be issued.

Despite the club telling the alleged victim they were taking the matter “extremely seriously”, Partey continued to play for Arsenal – and was promoted via their media channels. In the days following her initial complaint to the club, he appeared prominently on a number of social media posts.

This continued intermittently over the seasons that followed. While Partey’s involvement in promotional and marketing materials did appear to reduce, his continued presence in the team meant he never disappeared entirely from view. At international level, he also represented Ghana at the 2022 World Cup.

Arsenal’s stance never shifted. Partey continued to play a prominent role at Arsenal; when he was first arrested in July 2022, and when the case was passed to the CPS in December 2024.

“It felt so disheartening… even when the police specified that they had made the allegations clear to the club, and how serious they (the alleged offences) are,” says one woman.

Arsenal’s decision to offer Partey a new contract is arguably what has raised most questions. In October 2020, Partey signed a five-year deal that made him one of the club’s highest earners. That deal was set to expire this summer, and the expectation had been that he would leave the club on a free transfer, especially given the added complication of the allegations and the risk he could soon be charged. As the end of his contract approached, however, his role in the first team remained prominent.

Last season, Partey made 52 appearances across all competitions. In May 2025, manager Mikel Arteta confirmed his desire for Partey to remain at the club.

“Yeah,” said the Arsenal manager when asked if he wanted to retain Partey. “In regards to Thomas, consistency-wise, it’s been his best season. I think the way he’s played, performed, his availability has been exceptional, and he’s a really important player for us.”

It was not the first time Arteta had been publicly supportive of Partey. In October 2022, after Partey scored against Tottenham Hotspur, Arteta told TNT Sports: “For what he’s been through, and the injuries, and for the effort he’s put in this week to be available for the team, I’m so happy for him, he deserves it.”

These remarks appear emblematic of the attitude of the football side of the business. As one senior member of staff remarked in 2022, “We have to believe him, he is our player.”

For some fans, however, the issue is not so black and white. When a player faces such serious allegations, irrespective of the strength of the claims or denials, it causes a moral dilemma. Should that player continue to wear the shirt until the matter is resolved?

Then, in April, The Athletic broke news of Arsenal’s discussions with Partey over a new contract. On June 4, Arsenal confirmed on their website that “discussions are ongoing”.

News of a potential extension provoked anger and disappointment from some supporters. The fan group Arsenal Supporters Against Sexual Violence wrote an open letter to the club in November 2024, “regarding the widespread issue of tolerating footballers facing sexual offence allegations within the game we love.” It attracted 9,000 signatories. The group also protested outside the Emirates Stadium ahead of games.

Throughout this process, a number of Arsenal staff have been torn or disappointed about the club’s response. When Arsenal stated they were in contract talks with Partey, employees reached out to The Athletic to express disbelief and disappointment, adding that they felt they were not alone in their concerns.

• A Tell Media report / Originally published by The Athletic