Despite accusations of rape to Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Barti, the former Arsenal club will appear on the official English Premier League cards, Premier League, which will be put on the market next month, after the club management gave the green light to include his name.
The American company “Tops”, which specializes in the manufacture of trading cards and sports holdings, had announced earlier in the year a new partnership with the English Premier League for the design and distribution of official cards for players, starting from the 2025-2026 season.
Although Barti’s contract with Arsenal ended this summer, after the failure of the renewal negotiations, the club confirmed, last month, that he was in talks with him to extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium. Just four days after his official departure from the team, five accusations were charged with rape, in addition to a sexual assault by the British Public Prosecution (CPS). The player is scheduled to appear before the Westminster Partial Court on August 5, while he denies the charges against him.
The company “Tops” made it clear in statements to “The Athletic” that the choice of players who appear on the cards is based on objective criteria, including: the number of minutes played by the player in the previous season, the length of his presence in the club, and being an international player.
The final list of the 25-26 season group was completed last May, and all names were adopted by clubs, including Arsenal. This list included the name of Parti, despite the club’s knowledge of the ongoing investigations at the time, and his knowledge of the possibility of leaving the player for free in the event of not agreeing on a new contract.
Once the final lists are sent from the clubs to the company “Tops”, the cards were manufactured directly, and they were randomly included in the distribution packages, which means that the whereabouts of the Parti card cannot be limited, or prevented from reaching stores in the coming weeks.
Until the moment of writing this report, no official comments were issued by Arsenal or the Premier League regarding allowing Barti to be included in the cards, in light of the serious criminal charges that are still in the investigation.
This incident highlights possible gaps in the mechanism of approval of the promotional content associated with players, especially when it comes to facts that may cause public opinion or affect the image of the English Premier League as a global sports institution.
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