The much-awaited 2022-23 season of the English Premier League (EPL) kicked off last night as Arsenal faced Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Even though on the pitch Arsenal won comfortably by 2-0, they won’t be too comfortable with what went on around the game. Their midfield bulwark, Thomas Partey, was booed throughout the game and there was even a plane with the message that rapists should be kicked out of the game.
Partey is accused by his ex-girlfriend of raping her. She also shared that she was paid off to keep quiet about the whole incident. However, the crowd didn’t keep quiet about it as they booed Partey at every given opportunity.
As the match began, a plane carrying a large banner flew over Selhurst Park, calling for rapists to be kicked off the pitch. The banner was paid for by Arsenal fans with support from We Level Up, a group fighting for gender justice and bodily autonomy as part of a campaign to fight sexual violence, especially from Premier League footballers.
We’re not waiting any more. We’ve petitioned. We’ve written open letters. We’ve done meetings. We’ll be more direct.
— Level Up (@we_level_up) August 5, 2022
It’s long overdue that Premier League clubs confront a culture of impunity, complicity and silence around rape in football.
Credit:@jondbarker pic.twitter.com/nTI9JTqm4N
The “Kick rapists off the pitch” campaign started when the premier league refused to suspend the premier league footballer, suspected to be Partey, despite multiple rape allegations. Even his football club Arsenal FC refused to take any action against Partey.
As far as the police, they clarified that they can not take any action since the relevant legislation had not yet come into effect at the time of the alleged offence, getting Partey away on a technicality.
In this instance, no further action was taken because the relevant legislation had not yet come into effect at the time of the alleged offence. This has been explained to the complainant who continues to be supported by officers.
— Barnet MPS | North West BCU (@MPSBarnet) August 3, 2022
Amidst all that drama, Arsenal won 2-0 away at Crystal Palace managed by former Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira. Gabriel Martinelli gave the gunners a deserved early lead before Palace fought back to make things anxious for Arteta’s side. However, their resistance was over once Marc Guehi inadvertently headed Bukayo Saka’s cross into his own goal late on.
