A video showing Thomas Partey, Ghanaian midfielder and former Arsenal player, allegedly attributing his rape charges to racism is trending on social media.
In the video, the background voice overlaid on Partey’s image said the rape allegation was connected to his refusal to sign a new contract for Arsenal.
“I didn’t do it. They always wanted to accuse me of rape but that is what happens when you are black and refuse to renew the contract in big clubs like Arsenal,” the background voice said.
“But I’m prepared. I will rather go to jail than play for Arsenal again.”
The video was posted on X, Facebook, and TikTok. CableCheck observed that the versions of the video that went viral came from a TikTok account, @sserona12.
The TikTok handle, with over 150,000 followers, posted the video on Saturday with the caption: “Thomas Partey is being accused of rape”. The video has garnered over 5 million views to date.
A screenshot of the video on TikTok.
The video was also published here and here.
The video appeared online after Partey was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in the United Kingdom.
According to the UK’s Metropolitan Police, the offences allegedly happened between 2021 and 2022.
The allegations involve three different women who claimed they were raped and sexually assaulted by the suspect.
Partey will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on August 5.
Partey’s contract with Arsenal expired on June 30, 2025.
Rumoured discussions on contract renewal between the player and the North London club reportedly collapsed. This means that Partey is a free-agent player and not currently tied to a contract with any club.
VERIFICATION
CableCheck observed that the mouth region of Partey in the video was blurred, which suggested that the voice was imposed to achieve synchronisation with the original video.
To ascertain the location of the original video, CableCheck analysed keyframes of the video on Google Lens.
The results showed that the original video was posted via Instagram on October 8, 2020, shortly after the Ghanaian midfielder completed a £45 million transfer to Arsenal from Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
In the original video, Partey was telling Arsenal fans that he could not wait to join the team as a new player, while appreciating the fans.
Some news websites also published the video.
Searches also revealed that Partey has not made any comment about the rape accusations on his official social media handles.
VERDICT
The viral video showing Partey attributing his rape allegations to racism was digitally modified.
