An Open Letter to Arsenal Football Club

Today, the news broke that Thomas Partey, an Arsenal player until the beginning of this month, is being prosecuted for five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. Of course, you knew about this already. Everyone knew about this, only the player had not yet been named in the media. What I am struggling to understand is why you don't care about it?

I understand the legal minefield surrounding cases that are under investigation. I understand that it was unfeasible for you to terminate Partey's contract when the allegations first surfaced. But players have, allegedly, been frozen out at Arsenal for lesser crimes. Or rather, for expressing opinions, disagreeing with managers and displeasing sponsors, none of which are crimes at all. It was possible just to omit him from every subsequent matchday squad without explanation. It was possible to avoid posting photos of him on social media. Instead, you kept him around, and reminded your fans, constantly, that alleged rapists are welcome at Arsenal.

Everyone has heard the phrase "innocent until proven guilty", increasingly common in conversations surrounding rape and sexual assault. We've heard about how assault allegations "ruin lives", but I ask you to show me an example of when that has been true, particularly when it comes to successful men being accused. Meanwhile, according to Rape Crisis England and Wales, 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted. I count myself amongst those women and I am far from the only supporter of Arsenal Football Club who does.

One of the survivors of an alleged assault by Thomas Partey came from an Arsenal family. She posted on social media that the experience had totally ruined her relationship with the club and that she could no longer face seeing Arsenal on TV in her family home. I ask you to think about the impact this has had on her, the trauma inflicted by your club as you continued to play the man who allegedly abused her. This has permanently tarred the image of Arsenal in the mind of this poor woman, and in the minds of many other survivors of sexual assault. I cannot understand why you do not see this as an issue.

Many people are convinced that women frequently lie about being victims of rape. Perhaps this is also the belief held by those with power at Arsenal. If a woman accused a famous man of sexual assault, it must be because she wants to use his fame for her own gain. How many women can you name who became famous this way? I doubt you could name any. Not only is it not a particularly successful way of gaining fame, to speak out about an alleged sexual assault is always deeply traumatic for women. They are frequently harassed by tabloid newspapers and on social media. They are put under immense pressure if the case goes to court and are forced to relive one of the worst moments of their life over and over again. This is the reason so many survivors withdraw their cases against their abusers, because the process is just to tough to go through. If you believe that large numbers of women would willingly go through this for an almost non-existent chance at fame, you have a very low, misogynistic view of women.

Maybe I am making a mistake in asking you to care about women. Arsenal's women's team are European champions, an achievement the club has shouted about and celebrated across all platforms. Yet it seems that you only care about women when they bring money and glory. As soon as a woman speaks out about a terrible trauma she has suffered, she becomes an inconvenience and you are no longer on her side.

If you won't care about women, maybe you will care about young men. A group becoming increasingly disenfranchised in this country and searching for role models in right-wing extremists such as Andrew Tate. These men glorify rape, and in turn, young Arsenal fans on social media have been glorifying Partey because he is an alleged rapist. By continuing to platform him, Arsenal become complicit. They are showing these young men that you can have a successful football career and fo whatever you want to women and get away with it. Young men who need role models and avoid falling into the Tate trap often find themselves looking up to footballers. By choosing to throw your support behind an alleged rapist, you are once again giving these people at best, rape apologists as role models.

Truthfully, as a fan, I want Arsenal to be better. I fell in love with the club because of their championing of Black players, promotion of their women's team and support of their LGBTQ± fans. I, foolishly, expected more from you on this issue. And, perhaps even more foolishly, there is a part of me that still hopes you might come to your senses in the future. But, hope and expectations aside, I know that this cannot happen again. Arsenal, you must acknowledge your wrongs in dealing with the allegations against Partey. You must never allow a player under investigation for rape, sexual assault or domestic violence set foot on the pitch for you again, and this must be made perfectly clear to players signing for the club, as well as written as a clause into their contracts. If Arsenal are the first, if they make amends for their previous errors, other clubs will follow. You could help to end rape culture within men's football. I hope you care enough to try.