Qwiss But you don't know what the accusations even are. We have a very general idea of what the charges against him are, no real details.
We do actually have a lot of details, for instance, one avenue of the police investigation was abandoned on a technicality concerning the incident having occurred in Spain. That's not the point though, is it? We are supposedly discussing what the principles should be. You asked me mine and I put them forward. It may well be there's some "smoking gun" concerning Partey's case that would entirely exonerate him in the public eye, though it's hard to imagine that information would not have been leaked were that the case, so I don't think it's likely it exists.
One problem is that the unproven hypothesis of this exonerating evidence is what many Arsenal fans interpolate into their lack of complete information about Partey's case. The emotional investment in this possibility of a false accusation and an unjust punishment arises because, for a gooner, it rationalises the cognitive dissonance of supporting a man who may well be a sex offender as he turns out for Arsenal weekly.
The hypothetical injustice of this hypothetical punishment—one which is not in any way actually taking place—is also inflated and dramatised. It's discussed as if Partey's contract being terminated, or him being suspended or transfer listed, would prevent him from signing for another club and carrying on. We could hope so, but under current conditions, it would do nothing of the sort. Apart from the implied social censure, his position would be no worse than after Aubameyang got iced out. Mendy signed for L'Orient the day he was acquitted of what he was charged with, and is suing City for lost earnings.
This kind of response from clubs to the reckless private conduct that can lead to credible accusations of rape surfacing could be readily normalised. It wouldn't be that big a deal and it'd make the world a better place. Seems to me people reckon that because the possibility a player's a rapist doesn't affect his footballing performance, the club should actively ignore it, whereas it's fine to punish the same player for smoking a cigarette.
