"Do the right thing"? The Patai case questioned Arsenal s moral bottom line

For more than three years, Thomas Patty has played for Arsenal against serious sexual assault charges.

"You can't escape Arsenal," said a woman who made the accusations against him, referring to the huge influence of the Premier League club among its global fans.

She watched him running on the court, knowing in her heart that this was the club's deliberate choice - even if Patty continued to participate in the team, they still allowed him to stay on the court.

32-year-old Patty left Arsenal after his contract expired on June 30. He has played 167 games for the Gunners since joining Atletico Madrid for £45 million (now approximately US$61 million) in October 2020.

Four days later, he was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The crimes allegedly occurred between 2021 and 2022 and involved three women. Patty denied all charges, and his attorney, Jenny Wilthill of Hickman and Ross Law Firm, said in a statement that the parties "look forward to the opportunity to finally clear the grievances."

Arsenal has always taken pride in abide by the rules, such as following financial regulations in the football field, which is one of the core principles of the club.

They are not the first football club to be accused of sexual assault by players, nor will they be the last one. The court will determine whether he is guilty, but people are now starting to ask: How did the midfielder's old club handle the allegations? How did their decision affect fans and women reporting the case?

Under British law, Patty is not allowed to be published before being prosecuted, and the person who filed a sexual assault case has the right to anonymity for life. But the social media world never plays according to common sense.

A charger said that every time Patty appears for Arsenal, she receives online abuse. Sometimes it was attacked directly at her, and sometimes it was people who insulted everyone who accused Patai.

"I often receive messages from fans," she said, "they send him photos of games or goals... and they also receive death threats and rape threats. Some people say they want to burn me to death. For example, when he scores a goal, the insult will become worse."

In this report, TA can describe in detail:

In August 2021, Patai was reported to the police for the first time.

In September 2021, a woman contacted Arsenal to inform her about the trauma she claimed was with Patai.

Police later contacted Arsenal and informed them that Patai was under investigation for serious sexual assault.

Earlier this year, Arsenal negotiated a new contract with Patai, it was known that the Crown Prosecutor's Office, the agency responsible for deciding whether to prosecute, was making the allegation decision.

Arsenal said in a statement: "The player's contract expires on June 30. As legal proceedings are underway, the club cannot comment on the case."

Here, TA will explore when Arsenal knows what and whether they could have taken a different approach based on legal guidance.

Should they continue to let Patty play? Are there any other options? Why are we going to negotiate a contract renewal earlier this year? How does this make the relevant people feel?

In 2021, Patai was reported to the police for the first time. The next step for the reporter is to inform the club where he is.

"This is Arsenal," she thought, "they will not ignore it."

She initially wrote to the club's security team and was transferred to the legal department.

Arsenal's response was that, given that she was an adult, they would follow all necessary safety regulations.

She also notified the FA and received a similar response, saying her allegations were outside the FA's security responsibility. When TA contacted the FA, the other party said that the criminal investigation was ongoing and could not comment.

In the process of communicating with Arsenal by phone and email, she occasionally felt that the people she contacted—including some club executives— did not show the sympathy she deserved.

London police later informed Arsenal that Patty was under investigation for serious sexual assault. During Patai's remaining Gunners career, including during contract negotiations this summer, the club always knew he could be sued.

Although the club told the accuser that they "attention it very seriously", Patai continued to play for Arsenal - and also appeared in the club's media publicity. He has appeared frequently in multiple social media posts in the days after she first complained to the club. This situation continued intermittently throughout the following season. Although Patty has been involved in publicity and marketing materials less often, he continues to appear on the team and has never completely faded out of the public eye. In the international arena, he also represented Ghana in the 2022 World Cup.

Arsenal's position has never changed. Whether it was Patty's first arrest in July 2022 or when the case was transferred to the Crown Prosecutor's Office in December 2024, he always occupies an important position in Arsenal.

"It's so frustrating...even if the police explicitly inform the club of the existence of these allegations and how serious they are," one woman said.

Arsenal's decision to provide Patai with a new contract undoubtedly triggered the most doubts.

In October 2020, Patai signed a five-year contract, becoming one of the highest-paid players in the club. The contract will expire this summer. Considering the storm caused by the allegations and the risk of his prosecution soon, the outside world thought he would leave the team freely. However, as the contract expiration date approaches, his role in the first team remains important.

Last season, Patai made 52 appearances in various competitions. In May 2025, coach Mikel Arteta made it clear that he wanted to stay.

"Yes," the Arsenal coach said when asked if he wanted to keep Pattay, "It was his most stable season in terms of Thomas. He performed very well and attended, and was a very important member of the team."

This is not the first time Arteta has publicly supported Pattay.. After Patty scored a goal to beat Tottenham Hotspur, Arteta told TNT Sports: "I am happy for him, considering everything he has experienced, the injuries and the efforts he has put in to play this week, which is what he deserves."

These remarks seem to reflect the attitude of the club's football affairs department. As a senior staff member said in 2022: "We have to believe him, he is our player."

However, for some fans, things are not black or white. When a player faces such serious allegations, regardless of the intensity of the charges or denials, it will cause a moral dilemma: Should the player continue to wear the team's jersey before the matter is resolved?

Then in April, TA disclosed that Arsenal and Patty had negotiated a new contract. On June 4, Arsenal confirmed on its official website that "negotiations are underway." The news of the possible renewal of

has aroused anger and disappointment among some fans. The Arsenal Fan Group, which is against sexual assault, wrote an open letter to the club in November 2024, "about the common issue of tolerating players facing allegations of sexual assault in the sport we love", and solicited 9,000 signatures. The group also went outside the Emirates Stadium to protest before the game.

In the process, some Arsenal employees were ambivalent or disappointed with the club's response. When Arsenal announced contract negotiations with Patai, an employee contacted him to express his disbelief and disappointment, and said that he was not the only one who had such concerns.

For one of the accusers, the club's decision to renew the contract was not surprising. In her opinion, this reflects Arsenal's attitude over the past three years.

But in the end, Arsenal failed to reach an agreement with Pate. He left the team after his contract expired on June 30. Less than four days after leaving the team, he was charged with aggravated sexual assault. But when the charges were made public, he was still on the club's official website's Arsenal player list.

Arsenal faces a lot of scrutiny for continuing to let Patty play during this period. At the time of writing, TA asked the club a series of questions, including: When will

Arsenal know about these allegations?

What are the internal processes of Arsenal?

Have you consulted the women's football team?

Does

Who decides to continue to let Patai come on and negotiate a renewal?

Arsenal refused to answer on the grounds that legal proceedings are underway. Alex Clark, a senior hiring lawyer at the

Ansey Law Firm, explained that under current British law, it is not easy to take action against players charged with aggravated sexual assault.

"Even in the face of the worst allegations, people can understand the calls for a suspension, but the standard terms of the Premier League player contract make it difficult for clubs to do that," Clark said.

"The standard Premier League contract is reached through long-term negotiations with the Players' Union (PFA), so it contains some very favorable terms for players. In terms of suspension, the club can only suspend the game for two weeks and pay the full amount. There is no automatic right to deduct wages during the suspension, nor can it be extended to more than two weeks."

To extend the suspension to more than two weeks, a consensus is required with the player - it is almost impossible if the player insists that he is innocent.

This situation is different from a standard employment contract. “The football world is often not very compatible with the employment law, and this is a very obvious example,” Clark added.

Currently, in cases of suspected serious misconduct, Premier League clubs have no right to suspend pay and play. To change this, it will require renegotiation with the player union.

Arsenal must have also taken into account the basic legal principle of "presumption of innocence".

"Arsenal, as an employer, has an obligation to care for Patty and may think that any action against him will weaken that obligation, especially the suspension may be seen as a public hint of Arsenal's belief that he is guilty," Clark explained. The club also needs to balance this with the obligation to care for other employees, who may feel uncomfortable with the person suspected of such serious crimes, while also considering the security concerns arising from such serious allegations.

According to documents seen by TA, although Arsenal may not have contractual rights to suspend the game, they confirmed to the police that the allegations have been investigated.

In this case, the club also lacks clear guidelines. British Culture, Media and Sports Secretary Lisa Nandy expressed concern this week on the Sports Agent podcast that the club has no "standard practice" when players with "extremely high income" face allegations of sexual assault.

Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy was suspended from pay from September 2021 to June 2023 after being charged with rape and sexual assault in August 2021. Mendy was later found not guilty. In 2024, the judge ruled that Mendy was entitled to most of the unpaid wages – after his five-month portion in the detention center – was about £8.5 million.

If Arsenal takes action against Patty and he is ultimately acquitted, the club may be financially responsible. Punishing players who are ultimately innocent can also lead to reputation losses.

Instead, Arsenal chose to continue to bring the player facing serious allegations and promote it.

However, there is another important question worth asking: Do they have to let him play? Football is a team sport, and many players often miss the roster and have not triggered legal lawsuits. For example, the Evil Dogs and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang have been excluded from the team for a long time, and there seems to be no major consequences.

Do Patai's football ability and asset value be valued more than the moral and ethical influence that continues to let him play?

"The club has no obligation to have players participate in any matches," Clark said. “For highly skilled employees like football players, the club may have an implied employment law obligation to provide them with jobs to maintain skills. However, as long as Arsenal allows Patty to train and continue to pay wages, they may have met this obligation.. ”

" Some FIFA regulations may give Patty a technical right, and if Arsenal does not allow him to play for the entire season, he can terminate the contract with 'sports justification', but given the nature of the allegations against him and the risk of making those allegations more public, such claims may not be in Patty's interest. ”

" They may also consider that it may give the impression that they think he is guilty if Patty is not allowed to play in the event that he is innocent. ”

In this case, Arsenal may feel that it complies with the legal provisions and there is no problem with compliance.

But Arsenal has other core principles: culture, community, diversity and forward-looking. The club is proud of the women's football team (current Champions League champion) and welcomes a diverse group of fans. Are these aspects of the club reflected in this matter? On the club's recruitment page, it says "Do the right thing (even if no one sees it).".

When dealing with Thomas Patty's allegations, everyone is paying attention now.

Law, Arsenal may feel that he has done the right thing. But on the moral and ethical level, there are still questions to be answered.