Opinion: Thomas Partey charges are bigger than tribalism
You would think after the deaths of Diego Jota and André Silva, some would have learnt that while football is a beautiful game… it is just that… a game.The next day though, something else happened, far more serious than which sports team a person supports.Well, it should have been anyway. After a three-year investigation, Thomas […] The post Opinion: Thomas Partey charges are bigger than tribalism appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
RR aka Rishi-Raj
You would think after the deaths of Diego Jota and André Silva, some would have learnt that while football is a beautiful game… it is just that… a game.
The next day though, something else happened, far more serious than which sports team a person supports.
Well, it should have been anyway.
After a three-year investigation, Thomas Partey was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
That means one of two things. Between 2021 and 2022, a 32-year-old man subjected three women to one of the worst ordeals imaginable.
Or, the midfielder is being falsely accused of one of the sickest crimes you can name.
Either scenario impacts someone for the rest of their life, as well as their family.
Yet within hours, rivals of Arsenal were using this horrific situation as a source of banter, as if it were the equivalent of the Gunners missing a penalty.
Some Gooners used it as material to question the integrity of Mikel Arteta – why would the Spaniard be open to offering a contract extension, knowing the CPS were reviewing evidence?
Then there are those who feel the only way to defend our current manager is to discredit what came before him.
Apparently, Tony Adams being an alcoholic or Szczęsny lighting up a cigarette in the showers is comparable to sexual abuse.
I do not know which is sicker.
Having worked with children and adults who have gone through this unimaginable ordeal, I can tell you how offensive and ignorant it is to trivialise something so serious by even mentioning something as irrelevant and inconsequential as football.
Football is not the lens for this conversation
If you are a Spurs fan looking for banter, a supporter who does not rate the current regime at the Emirates, or someone wanting to take cheap shots at Mr Wenger, there is so much you can use as a stick to beat Arsenal with.
Talk about 22 years without a title, question the ambition of our owners, debate our players, but to use the accusation of rape?
Whether it is the alleged victim or the alleged perpetrator, imagine if that were your daughter, son, niece, nephew, cousin, mum or dad going through that, only for strangers to make it all about tribalism and point scoring.
I have literally read on social media (admittedly never the best place to go for common sense and empathy) comparisons between clubs about their legal histories.
Not goals, assists or medals, but who has had more players past or present facing criminal charges.
Am I meant to believe seriously that some grown adults think the colour of a shirt determines if or what crimes a person commits?
For years, I have written about how the UK has a serious issue with grown men and women who think that inside their football bubble, they can behave however they want.
If someone else were facing the same charges that Thomas Partey is dealing with, you would not say that is because they work at Asda, this would never happen at Tesco.
You would not expect customers of Sainsbury’s to get online and say, “Typical Asda.”
That all sounds immature, does it not?
Arsenal’s legal handling was tightly bound
A bit like when I had to educate some of my peers who did not believe racism had ever occurred at Highbury or the Emirates.
Or that they had never heard a single Gooner at any ground sing an abusive song.
These are decent people who are not meaning to be disrespectful or ignorant. They have simply been brought up to believe that the definition of being a supporter means never saying anything negative about the squad, the fans or the stadium.
Arsenal were founded in 1886, so by law of averages, there will have been players and supporters who crossed the line.
I will point out when our manager or owner does something wrong, but in terms of Partey, they are beyond reproach.
They have nothing to answer for and do not need to justify their actions.
That is because this situation is bigger than Arsenal and football.
Even if Mikel Arteta and the Kroenke family wanted to get involved, there is very little they could do.
A football club is no different from any company. It is a business with various departments.
The moment Thomas Partey first informed his employers of a police investigation, lawyers would have been contacted and advised Arsenal every step of the way since.
Those questioning Mikel Arteta’s moral compass need to understand how little involvement the Spaniard would have had regarding Partey.
The 43-year-old is just an employee who takes direction from those above.
It is no different to any organisation. You may have a manager in charge of your daily workplace, but unless it is directly a safeguarding issue concerning who you work with, a manager cannot send you home based on gossip about what you did on your weekend off.
Arsenal’s legal position was to not treat the player any differently until he had been charged.
Firstly, because that is a person’s legal right, but more importantly, a suspect should not be named publicly if not charged.
So while the Gunners could have, in theory, paid Partey not to play (as long as he was still allowed to train with the first team), it would have invited journalists to ask, “Where is our defensive midfielder?”
That would only increase the speculation already circulating on social media.
Even now, the Metropolitan Police are pleading with the public not to spread false narratives, as it could impact the case.
So by Arsenal acting as normal, they have not compromised anything.
Also, what if the Ghanaian had insisted he was innocent, but had been made to sit at home, isolated from his peers, only for the allegations to turn out to be false?
Would that have been morally correct?
Thomas Partey has cooperated with the police investigation, who clearly feel they have enough evidence for a conviction.
His lawyer has stated that his client “welcomes the opportunity to finally clear his name”.
He deserves that right.
If guilty, though, he does not belong in society and has no legacy in North London.
Football is a beautiful game. But it is just that… a game.
Your thoughts welcome in the comments.
Dan Smith
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