England vs Ghana: Djed Spence Refuses Thomas Partey Handshake

He joined in April 2024, having previously worked at VAVEL as Deputy Editor-in-Chief, where he produced a variety of content, including pieces from press conferences and games. He also won an award for his role as lead editor for the Women's Football section of the online newspaper.

Covering football all across Europe, he has worked at stadiums such as Anfield, Old Trafford, and Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park, as well as having reported at both the 2023 men's and women's Champions League finals in Eindhoven and Istanbul.

He is infatuated with every aspect of football, but likes other sports as well, being an avid coffee-desperate Buffalo Bills supporter from across the pond and a darts' newbie. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account One England player chose not to shake Thomas Partey's hand before the Three Lions faced Ghana in their second World Cup game in Boston on Tuesday night.

The Ghanaian midfielder, previously of Arsenal, is currently facing allegations that include seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault involving four different women, as per The Mirror.

These incidents are alleged to have taken place between 2020 and 2022, with investigations taking place while he was still plying his trade in the Premier League.

England have been urged to change their national anthem for football matches, and ditch 'God Save the King'.

Heading into the clash, the English FA's stance was that the players could make their own decision on whether or not to embrace Partey following the national anthems being played.

In Djed Spence's case, the Tottenham defender chose to keep his arms by his side as his former north London adversary walked past him. Watch the incident below:

Indeed, the above footage was caught by a fan inside the stadium, eager to see what kind of reaction Partey would get after having been denied entry to Canada for Ghana's match vs Panama last time out. Both the BBC and ITV have faced criticism for cutting the cameras as soon as Partey was shown going towards the England players.

There are rules in place about what can be said, reported, and shown while legal issues continue to be resolved, and it was perhaps easy to predict that broadcasters would try avoid causing any uproar where possible.

For England's World Cup campaign, there are less controversial issues to be focussing on. Last week, they beat old foes Croatia 4-2 in what was an almost-perfect start to their pursuit of ending a 60-year trophy drought. It was the first time the Three Lions had beaten a nation inside the top 15 of FIFA's World Rankings at a major tournament since 2002, and Thomas Tuchel seems to have got their attacking play nailed.