CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz has explained why he picked Thomas Partey in his World Cup squad while the former Arsenal midfielder is awaiting a trial in London on multiple charges of rape.
Queiroz cited a presumption of innocence for Partey — who now plays in Spain for Villarreal and has pleaded not guilty — criticized the quick judgements of modern social media and spoke philosophically in comments late Monday ahead of a warmup game in Wales.
“Let events run its normal course, let the river flow and one day when the river meets the ocean we will find the truth,” said Queiroz, a veteran coach going to his fifth straight World Cup after leading his native Portugal and Iran at previous editions.
The 32-year-old Partey is due to stand trial in November or later on allegations dating to his time with Arsenal from 2020-25. A second World Cup player, Morocco's Achraf Hakimi, also is awaiting trial on similar charges, in Paris.
“Today, and this is not only about Thomas, very unfortunately the way social media, and the media sometimes, act with full and total impunity we are condemned even before we have the opportunity to defend ourselves,” Queiroz said in Cardiff where his team plays on Tuesday against Wales.
“If the player is here with me, my answer is clear, so I don’t have to make comments about my own decisions,” said the coach who was hired by Ghana in April.
At the World Cup, Ghana plays one group game in Canada then two in the United States, and has a training base in Rhode Island.
Queiroz’s team starts against Panama in Toronto on June 17, then plays England in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and finishes Group L against Croatia in Philadelphia on June 27. The top two in the standings go to the round of 32 and the third-place team could also advance.
The 73-year-old coach suggested “there are much more serious problems, urgent issues in the world to talk about” than an issue with a player that was out of his hands.
“Unfortunately, as I said, today it is really difficult to deal with everything that is on top of us,” said Queiroz, who at the 2022 World Cup tried to protect his Iran players from questions about anti-government protests at home.
“The key point for me in my professional life in football it is to keep everything that is poison or dust far away from the four lines,” he said on Monday.
Ghana’s squad is headlined by Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo at the Black Stars' fifth World Cup appearance in the last six editions.
In 2010 in South Africa, Ghana was denied being the first African team to reach the semifinals when Uruguay forward Luis Suárez punched away a goal-bound header late in extra time of a 1-1 game. Ghana missed the penalty kick then lost the shootout.
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
FILE - Iran's head coach Carlos Queiroz looks on ahead the start of the World Cup group B soccer match between Wales and Iran at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Nov. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
FILE -Thomas Partey of Ghana and Nico Schlotterbeck of Germany challenge for the ball during an international friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Arlette Basekawike, a volunteer for the United Nations food agency in Bunia, the heart of Congo's Ebola outbreak, spends most of her time in a small shed outside a health facility preparing meals for patients and health workers.
Her hair covered by a pink bonnet, she prepares porridge, omelets and bread for breakfast for patients at the Evangelical Medical Center. The lunch and dinner menus might include fresh fish with fufu, a starchy staple made of mashed plantains, finished off by fruit.
“Even though the patients have this disease, they still feel better when they eat, and the doctors have the energy to treat the sick and give them medication,” Basekawike told The Associated Press on Monday as she prepared vegetables and potatoes with goat meat in a large cooking pot. “I’m here for them like a parent, preparing food so they feel comfortable.”
Her contribution may appear, on the surface, like a simple task, but it has become one of the critical supports for the region as it grapples with the rapidly spreading rare Bundibugyo virus, the species of Ebola confirmed in eastern Congo in May.
As of Tuesday, 321 cases of the Ebola disease and 48 deaths had been confirmed in the Central African nation’s three eastern provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu, according to the World Health Organization. Neighboring Uganda has had nine cases and one death confirmed, according to the WHO, prompting Uganda to close its border with Congo.
Before the outbreak, the beleaguered region already faced one of the world's most severe food crises due to an ongoing conflict that has displaced millions of people as government forces fight rebels. The spreading virus has added another layer of complexity that the United Nations warns might complicate the efforts to manage the spread of the virus among an already wary population.
“We are in a region where we already have large segments of the population suffering from acute food insecurity linked to either war or displacement,” said Olivier Nkakudulu, who heads the World Food Program in Ituri province. “So there are already needs and Ebola is an additional crisis on top of a crisis.”
The resource-strapped agency, the World Food Program, is facing a critical choice as aid cuts from the U.S. and other major partners have disrupted operations in the vulnerable region. Efforts to contain the disease, which the World Health Organization has deemed a global health emergency, have been hampered by a lack of funds as global partners either withdrew or reduced pledges.
Also, attacks by suspicious residents on health workers and the slow delivery of aid due to the ongoing conflict have made it difficult to slow the spread of the disease.
Despite the challenges, the agency and health workers say they have ensured patients' nutritional demands are met so far.
“Today we need to increase the amount because the number of patients has gone up,” Esther Bao, a nurse and one of the volunteers, said. There are also patients who, because of their health situation, "don't eat just any meal,” she said.
The Bundibugyo virus has no approved vaccine or treatment. However, treatment has targeted symptoms and five people have recovered.
The outbreak continues to spread, from the three health zones affected at the onset to 22 as of this weekend, according to Congo's Ministry of Health.
On Sunday, 120 meals were served through four health facilities, bringing the total to 404 since the food assistance began on May 28, according to Nkakudulu. But the financial situation has not been easy, he said.
“Without more funding, we might not be able to prioritize every suspected case,” Nkakudulu said. "We might have to focus on some and not have food to give to others."
Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.
People work at the World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse where supplies for the Ebola response are kept in Bunia, Congo, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A health worker receives food for medical staff and Ebola patients at the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Arlette Basekawike prepares meals for Ebola patients at the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Kavugho Hortense, a cook, delivers meals to the medical staff and Ebola patients at the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Arlette Basekawike prepares meals for Ebola patients at the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
