Thomas Partey was greeted with some whistles, a little applause and no major protest as he made his competitive debut for Villarreal. The 32-year-old former Arsenal midfielder has been released on bail, charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, which he denies, and his signing had drawn complaints from supporters in Spain but on his first La Liga appearance at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Friday night there was mostly indifference.
Partey was introduced in the 82nd minute, alongside Alfonso Pedraza, with Santi Comesaña and Nicolas Pépé making way. As the two players entered the pitch, with Villarreal already 2-0 up against Real Oviedo and the game drifting to a conclusion, some whistles could be heard among the clapping. Partey touched the ball 13 times, and the first four or five of those were met more clearly with whistles, although they soon faded. They did not come from a particularly significant portion of the crowd. There was also some timid applause in response to the whistles.
There were no banners, no chants, no renewed social media campaign and neither manager was asked to comment on Partey after the game. The whistles were not sufficient to be registered by everyone. Cadena Ser radio’s local correspondent, who sat in the press area high in the main stand, reported that he had not heard any.
“The Cerámica is going to treat Thomas Partey as just another player, at least for the moment,” wrote the sports newspaper AS. “The majority of the Villarreal fans accept the presumption of his innocence.”
Partey appeared in court in early August, where he was granted conditional bail and charged with five counts of rape of two women and another count of sexual assault against a third woman. The offences were alleged to have taken place during 2021 and 2022 when he was at Arsenal, although he had initially not been named for legal reasons. Partey’s lawyer has said that he “denies all the charges against him” and welcomes “the opportunity to finally clear his name”. He joined Villarreal two days later. If he is found guilty, his contract will be automatically rescinded.
“His is in the midst of a legal process. He defends his innocence and denies the accusations,” said the Villarreal president, Fernando Roig. “The club defends the presumption of innocence and it is for the English justice system to clarify the facts. Logically, we are opposed to any type of violence in or outside of football. At the moment, Partey is as innocent as everyone else here. That fundamental right must be respected. He is a great player and he will help us grow as a team. If he is [found] guilty he will no longer be part of Villarreal but he is not [yet]. We have to wait.”
Some Villarreal fans opposed the move. José Ángel Arnau, a spokesperson for the federation of Villarreal supporters’ clubs, described the signing as divisive. “Villarreal have got themselves into an unnecessary mess,” he told El País. “I am against this signing. This goes against everything they have always said, the image of a quiet, family club. Now it seems like anything goes.”
An online petition opposing his signing currently has just over 1,000 signatures. However, the president of the federation of supporters’ clubs, Javier Pérez, said: “If the club have backed him, so should we. He is one of ours and we will support him like any other player.”
When Villarreal played Aston Villa in a pre-season friendly at the Cerámica last Sunday, Partey was whistled. “It was the English that whistled him, not the Villarreal fans,” Roig said. “I wouldn’t like our own fans to whistle players in our team. You have to be with the team and respect the presumption of innocence. Let us not judge ahead of time. Thomas has the right to do his job until there is a verdict. I wouldn’t like it at all if our own people were whistled.”
On Friday night, when Villarreal returned to their home ground for the opening day of the season, that was a view that appeared to be shared by most, although not all supporters.
