Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has pleaded not guilty to two additional counts of rape, bringing the total number of charges against him to seven.ย
The 32-year-old appeared at Southwark Crown Court, where he denied allegations that he raped a woman twice in London in December 2020. Partey had previously been charged in July last year with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to incidents alleged to have taken place between 2021 and 2022. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In total, the Ghana international faces seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault involving four women. On Monday, Judge Tony Baumgartner ruled that all charges will be tried together.
A trial initially scheduled for November may now be delayed until January 2027 following the addition of the new allegations.
Partey, who joined Arsenal from Atlรฉtico Madrid in a ยฃ45 million deal in 2020, left the club last summer to join Villarreal.
He remains on bail with strict conditions, including no contact with the alleged victims. Partey is expected to return to court for a pre-trial hearing on May 14.
