Ghana’s government has described Canada’s decision to deny Thomas Partey a visa for his country’s World Cup game against Panama on Wednesday as “high-handed and extremely unfair”.

Ghana’s foreign ministry said it understood the decision to be based on pending criminal proceedings in Britain. The 32-year-old Partey, a former Arsenal midfielder who plays for Villarreal, faces allegations of rape and sexual assault in Britain. He has denied the charges.

Partey is with the rest of the Ghana squad in Boston and will be eligible to play in their subsequent Group L matches against England in that city and against Croatia in Philadelphia.

Ghana’s foreign ministry said it had dispatched an official note of protest requesting that Canada review its decision. “The government of the Republic of Ghana expresses strong reservations following the high-handed and extremely unfair decision by Canada,” it said. “While respecting Canada’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws, Ghana considers that reliance on unproven charges in the absence of a judicial determination raises fundamental questions of fairness and proportionality.”

A spokesperson for Canada’s immigration, refugees and citizenship said on Friday that the country had been consistent that hosting major events does not change immigration laws. “Every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually, based on the facts available and the law that applies,” the spokesperson said.

Fifa said it was not involved in the immigration processes of host countries.

Partey’s case is the latest immigration-related controversy to flare at the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico. The US refused entry this week to the Somali referee Omar Artan, who had been due to officiate at the tournament.

Upon returning to Somalia, Artan described the visa decision as a matter of “fate” and urged fellow Somalis not to lose heart over it.