England boss Tuchel banned from Partey and Spence handshake question | Football | Sport

Spence was the sole England player who did not shake hands with the Ghana midfielder, who had been refused entry into Canada for his nation’s opening World Cup group match against Panama in Toronto. The 33-year-old is due to stand trial next year, having entered not guilty pleas to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, all allegedly committed between 2020 and 2022.

During his post-match press conference, Tuchel was questioned about his view on Spence’s decision to avoid Partey, but he was prevented from responding by England Communications Lead Andy Walker, citing “legal” matters.

Defender Dan Burn was similarly prevented from addressing whether England’s players had been prepared to shake Partey’s hand ahead of the fixture.

Tuchel initially seemed poised to offer a response as he also discussed his side’s disappointing display and outcome at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, but ultimately made no comment.

Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz also weighed in on Spence’s decision to bypass Partey, stating: “It did not happen [handshake], as you saw, in the comments of Thomas, we refuse to be part of people that try to bring dust and politics inside the game.

“We fight to keep the frontline sacred. It’s difficult sometimes but it happens, we have to congratulate everyone on the game, we leave politics outside of the game.”

They struck the crossbar through Nico O’Reilly and also saw an effort cleared off the line as they applied sustained pressure on Ghana, who sat deep in a defensive block.

Carlos Queiroz’s side believed they should have been awarded a penalty in the second half when Ezri Konsa made contact with Prince Kwabena Adu inside the box.

Skipper Harry Kane voiced his frustration as England squandered the opportunity to secure top spot, saying: “Obviously disappointed not to win the game.

“It’s a game we knew we had loads of possession, we did and they defended well in a low compact block and made it difficult to play in the middle or the pitch, so the game was outside and one v one duels. I think both ends of the half in the first and second half we got some momentum there and chances.

“It’s a game we could’ve walked away 1-0, 2-0 and moved on.It was never going to be the prettiest game because of the way they played. Credit to them, they defended well, dangerous on the counter-attack. Overall, we defended that pretty well. They didn’t have many chances. We take the point and move on.”

England now meet Panama in New Jersey in their final Group L fixture on Saturday.