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Former Arsenal footballer Thomas Partey is set to deny two new allegations of rape, a court has heard. The 32-year-old midfielder was absent from Westminster Magistrates’ Court for the first hearing.
Partey was charged last month with two counts of raping a woman during a date in December 2020. At Friday’s hearing, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram oversaw the preliminary stages of the case in his absence.
Partey had been excused from attending, but his lawyer, Emma Fenn, confirmed he intends to plead not guilty to both charges.
Last year, Partey was charged with five counts of rape against two women and sexual assault against a third alleged victim, following a Metropolitan Police investigation. He has already entered not guilty pleas to those allegations, which date back to 2021 and 2022, and is due to face trial at Southwark Crown Court in November.
On Friday, the court heard that the two new allegations came to light after the first set of charges was made public. Prosecutor Arabella MacDonald said: “Mr Partey faces two further charges of rape dating back to December 2020. The complainant came forward after news of Mr Partey’s other matters were widely publicised.”
Judge Ikram sent the two new charges, involving a fourth alleged victim, to the Crown Court for a hearing on April 10.
The new charges accuse the Ghanaian midfielder, who now plays for Spanish club Villarreal, of twice raping a woman in London in December 2020. Partey, who previously lived in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, joined Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in 2020 in a £45 million transfer before moving to Villarreal in June last year.
He has made over 50 appearances for Ghana, including at the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
Partey was released on bail on Friday, with the condition that he does not contact the alleged victim. He is expected to attend the next court hearing in April.
