John Terry and Simon Jordan believe England's players should shake hands with Thomas Partey before Tuesday night's World Cup clash with Ghana, stressing that the midfielder has not been found guilty of any offence.
Partey is expected to feature for Ghana in Boston despite ongoing scrutiny surrounding the former Arsenal midfielder, who has been charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. He denies all charges and is adamant he'll clear his name.
The prospect of England's players greeting Partey before kick-off has become a talking point ahead of the Group L encounter, with former Chelsea captain Terry insisting he would extend the courtesy of a handshake.
Appearing alongside Piers Morgan, Terry said footballers should ultimately be allowed to make their own decisions, but admitted he would have no hesitation in acknowledging the 33-year-old.
"Listen, I think they're all big boys, and they'll make their own decisions," Terry said.
"But I think you do the right thing in terms of millions of people watching.
"Like you said, Piers, it's innocent until proven guilty. And I don't know the facts or the ins and outs of the case, so I'm certainly not in a place to comment.
"But if you're asking me, would I shake the player's hand? Yes, I would.
John Terry and Simon Jordan believe England's players should shake hands with Thomas Partey before Tuesday night's World Cup clash with Ghana, stressing that the midfielder has not been found guilty of any offence
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"And I think the players are big enough to make their own decisions on that."
Jordan agreed with Terry's assessment, arguing that being charged and being convicted are two very different matters.
The former Crystal Palace owner explained that his view had changed as developments in the case progressed, having previously said he would have removed a player from action while legal proceedings were ongoing if he believed it was in the best interests of a club.
"As John has said, we discussed this on another show, and I talked about it from the principle of being a club owner with a player facing that sort of allegation and what it looked like," Jordan said.
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England's record at the World Cup | GETTY/ GB NEWS"Moving from allegation to being charged is a different barrier to me.
"So, as I said in our last discussion with Sean, if he had moved from an allegation to being charged, I would take him out of commission because I think it would be in the best interests of the club's reputation and everything that goes with it.
"But as we have said repeatedly, and rightly so, without undermining the values of a victim, you are innocent until proven guilty.
"And judging people, be careful how you judge people, because one day someone will come along and judge you.
Thomas Partey is set to feature in Ghana's World Cup clash with England tonight
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"So I think it's entirely appropriate that players do what they want to do, but I would suggest that shaking hands is probably the right thing to do until such a time as someone has been found guilty."
Partey has previously indicated that he is focused solely on football and is not allowing outside noise to affect his preparations for Ghana's meeting with England.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has also suggested he will not instruct his players on whether they should greet Partey before kick-off, indicating the decision would be left to individual members of the squad.
The issue is likely to remain under the spotlight when England and Ghana meet at 9pm tonight.
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