The participation of three players accused of sexual crimes has emerged as a significant talking point at the World Cup 2026.
Thomas Partey started for Ghana against England despite facing seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault in the UK, for which he will stand trial next year. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi is also set to stand trial in France, charged with rape, while Cape Verde captain Ryan Mendes is under investigation for an alleged rape by New Zealand police.
Closer to home, police have investigated players or bosses at seven Premier League clubs for alleged sexual offences since 2020.
Despite this, neither the Football Association (FA) nor the Premier League have regulations in place advising on a response to sexual violence.
Amid calls for this to change, could lessons from American sporting leagues inform the implementation of new policies?
Calls for change
The FA is already under pressure to change its approach.
Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: “Football fans want clubs to take action on violence against women perpetrated by their players.
“But all too often, survivors are met with cultures of disbelief and silence, with legal systems that are stacked against them and few players facing meaningful consequences.
“There have been a series of high-profile arrests and investigations of footballers in recent years, but these are not isolated incidents involving individual players.
“To end violence against women and girls, we must also address the culture and priorities of football clubs themselves.”
She added: “We want to see all football clubs and the bodies that oversee them take their responsibilities towards women and girls seriously, and show leadership in rooting out violence against women.
“With its reach and influence, football has a unique opportunity to help transform attitudes across society and send a message that violence against women is never tolerated.”
EVAW have collaborated with gender justice groups Level Up and The Three Hijabs to call for several changes in the way English football approaches gender-based violence, claiming a culture of impunity for players accused of wrongdoing.
In an open letter to the Premier League and the FA, the groups have demanded “clear sexual misconduct policies and protocols with the power to impose appropriate consequences and disciplinary action on players, from suspension without pay to lifetime bans”.
The government’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee has called for the incoming new football regulator to ensure that the lack of response to allegations of violence against women is addressed.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the committee, told the BBC: “As part of the new regulator’s role setting licensing conditions, we want to see it have the powers to take clubs to task for their approach and lack of progress when it comes to improving every aspect of equality, diversity and inclusion.”
Under whose authority?
“We are unable to comment on specific cases, but that does not mean that we haven’t taken the required action or applied appropriate safeguards within our jurisdiction.”
This is part of a response by the Football Association (FA) when questioned by the BBC over its inactivity regarding accusations of sexual misconduct by players.
These cases only fall outside of the FA’s jurisdiction because it has not introduced the regulations that would enable a meaningful response to instances of misconduct.
A spokesperson said: “When there are allegations of this behaviour outside of a football environment, then it is solely a matter for the police to investigate.”
There are, however, other situations where the FA deemed intervention appropriate.
Consider the punishment handed to Andre Gray when historic homophobic tweets resurfaced in 2016 – a four-match ban, a £25,000 fine and an order to attend an educational course.
The FA rationalised this punishment by stating his tweets were “abusive and/or insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute contrary to Rule E3(1)”.
Former Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy sued the club over unpaid wages from his suspension while being investigated on rape charges – for which he was acquitted in 2023.
During the hearing last year, it was revealed that on the 27 August 2021, the FA had suspended Mendy on an interim basis, prohibiting him from partaking in “any football-related activity“.
This remained active until his contract expired in June 2023.
This suspension was not announced publicly and was granted on safeguarding grounds, given the age of one of his accusers.
The FA is being called upon to take the same initiative in suspending players regardless of the alleged victim’s age.
The clubs
Without standardised guidance from the FA, clubs have struggled severely with handling allegations against their players.
This was evident in Manchester United’s approach to the Mason Greenwood case, culminating in an ill-fated proposal to reintegrate Greenwood into the squad in August 2023.
Greenwood had been suspended after being accused of assault in a series of social media posts from his girlfriend. Charges against him were eventually dropped.
New regulations could take this burden off clubs and alleviate concerns of legal trouble.
Such difficulties have also faced clubs attempting to sign players following convictions of sexual misconduct.
Ched Evans, who was convicted of rape in 2012 but found not guilty in a retrial four years later, was set to be signed by Oldham Athletic in January 2015, just months after being released from prison.
A public outcry, including death threats made to club employees and threats from sponsors, prompted a U-turn.
Scottish club Raith Rovers also experienced a public relations disaster over their signing of David Goodwillie, who was ruled to have raped a woman in a civil case in 2016 – although this was outside the English FA’s jurisdiction.
The Mendy case displays the pitfalls clubs face in the absence of regulations.
The aforementioned employment tribunal ruled Mendy was entitled to the money withheld while he was on bail – about £8million – but not the funds withheld while he was in custody.
According to the judge, this was because he was in custody owing to “his own culpable actions”, but was “ready and willing” to play during his suspension.
In some American sports where there are clearer regulations, Mendy would have been placed on paid administrative leave by the relevant sporting body while being investigated.
Thus, the prospect of a legal battle like this would be mitigated.
Concerning the Greenwood case, the public nature of the allegations meant the club had little choice but to suspend the player following an avalanche of pressure from sponsors and fans.
Problematically, should victims feel they need to share their allegations online, they are exposed to the internet’s wrath.
An alleged victim of Partey told the BBC she received abuse which left her “in a constant state of fear”.
The FA and PFA
Relevant parties have loosely alluded to the potential for new regulations.
In 2022, Geoff Thompson, a board member of England and Wales’ leading footballers’ union, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), stated his support for players being suspended while being investigated over a rape allegation.
Greg Dyke, who was chairman of the FA between 2013 and 2016, suggested vaguely that the organisation would discuss implementing new codes of conduct and guidelines amid the aforementioned controversy over Evans’ potential return to professional fooball in 2015.
Should a new set of regulations be introduced, the FA and the PFA would need to come to a collective agreement on the details.
In the case of such an agreement, no legalities would prohibit players from receiving punishment independently of being found guilty in court.
This is significant in a broader climate where so few accusations lead to convictions, and many cases never make it to court.
American leagues
What does a solution look like? Perhaps exploring the policies adopted by American sporting bodies will shed some light.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) have similar guidelines outlining how cases of violence against women should be managed.
The “Joint NBA/NBPA Policy On Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse” governs the NBA’s response and is arguably the most clearly laid out.
This policy facilitates training, education and treatment for players accused of domestic or sexual violence or child abuse, as well as any player who asks for this support, alongside setting up a confidential hotline.
The policy affords the commissioner of the league, advised by a policy group including three independent experts, broad power to punish players with anything from a fine to permanent banishment from the NBA.
A conviction, guilty plea or plea of no contest in court to a relevant allegation automatically constitutes a violation of the policy and gives the commissioner power to use any such discipline.
Importantly, however, a violation can still be adjudged to have occurred without this and only a player acquitted after trial cannot be disciplined.
The policy allows the commissioner the power to place a player on paid administrative leave while an investigation is underway.
It would have been this mechanism the FA could have employed concerning Partey, stopping him from playing week-in, week-out, but not jumping to any premature conclusions and still paying the player.
In the NBA, this money would then be taken back if the player is found to violate the policy upon the conclusion of the investigation.
Moreover, it would prevent situations like that of former Sunderland forward Adam Johnson, who would eventually be found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a child, but not before playing almost a year’s worth of games after his first arrest in March 2015.
Johnson, after being charged, played the remaining five games of the 2014/15 Premier League season, assisting the club’s escape from relegation.
“MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy” has a similar constitution but has been implemented more aggressively.
This policy also allows the league to place players on administrative leave while an investigation is underway.
It authorises punishment on a “just cause” basis as opposed to the guilt-beyond-a-reasonable-doubt threshold of the criminal justice system, alongside offering education and prevention training and protecting the legal rights of its players.
In April 2022, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was suspended for 324 games (two seasons) without pay after allegations of sexual misconduct by at least three women.
While this suspension would go on to be reduced to 194 games by an independent arbitrator, Bauer was not offered a new contract upon its conclusion and has not played in MLB since 2021.
Seventeen players have received suspensions since the policy was adopted in 2014.
The National Football League (NFL), meanwhile, lacks a specific policy relating to gender-based violence.
Instead, some information governing the response to violence against women has been added incrementally to the Personal Conduct Policy, which broadly oversees the league’s response to any off-field conduct deemed detrimental to the league’s integrity.
Criticisms
A major criticism concerns the leniency afforded to the respective commissioners in the extent of punishment they dish out, thus leaving room for accusations of favouritism and public relations-informed decisions.
The NBA’s policy outlines that character factors are to be considered when deciding punishment.
When considering whether to place a player on administrative leave, and when considering discipline for a player found in violation of the league’s policy, it is encoded that both the “character of the player” and “the player’s reputation in the NBA community” are to be considered.
The criticism is that this small print intentionally affords the commissioner, Adam Silver, leniency to levy harsher or tamer punishment based on how popular a player is and how big a name they are.
The NFL has also been criticised for inconsistencies in dealing out suspensions.
The league has been notoriously harsh on players caught gambling, giving an indefinite ban to every player caught betting on the league since 1970.
It is similarly harsh on marijuana consumption as with the case of wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was suspended for over three seasons in total after multiple incidents.
However, when it comes to violence against women, punishments vary.
Ray Rice was suspended for just two games in 2014 after being charged with domestic violence.
The league was aware of the incriminating proof against him, but only suspended him after the evidence was leaked publicly and duress from major sponsors began to outweigh the financial benefits of letting one of the league’s more popular players continue playing.
There is also a worry that, in some cases, an official league suspension could make it easier for clubs to reintegrate players after committing sexual crimes.
Greenwood was forced out of Manchester United by public pressure, despite an initial plan to reinstate him, and it is unclear whether he will be seen again in English football.
For now, at least, the allegations have cost him his international career, his dream of playing for his boyhood club, and his opportunity to play in England altogether.
What if an FA suspension would have made for a lighter punishment in comparison?
In 2022, Charlotte Hornets power forward Miles Bridges plead no contest to attacking his ex-wife in front of their children in an assault which left her with a concussion, a broken nose and strained neck muscles from strangulation.
The player was suspended while being investigated and would eventually be given a 30-game suspension.
However, part of this suspension was counted as having been served while the investigation was being conducted.
After 17 games of the 2023/24 season, Bridges was back playing, and within weeks, fans and media seemed to have moved on.
Implications
Fans want to see football care about justice for women, not just about finances and publicity.
While the American model is flawed, it provides a mechanism through which players are disciplined more consistently, taking the decisions away from biased and confused clubs.
League-sanctioned suspensions, at the very least, communicate that sexual violence is unacceptable.
An FA spokesperson said: “We strongly condemn all forms of violence and abuse, which have no place in football or in wider society.
“Incidents and allegations of this nature are primarily criminal matters, and we encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed such behaviour to report it to the police so that it can be appropriately investigated.
“Under our jurisdiction, we are able to take disciplinary action against participants that have breached our rules and regulations, and we will always take appropriate steps within our regulatory framework.”
Featured image: Alex Heath
Join the discussion