Spence denies greeting Partey and turns on the networks

A simple handshake that never happened between the English defender Djed Spence and the Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey became, in the friendly between England and Ghana, the most talked about gesture of the day. The images, captured by television cameras, showed how Spence deliberately omitted the protocol greeting to Partey and followed all the other rivals. The video went viral in minutes and unleashed a storm on social networks that completely overshadowed the start of the meeting.

The incident occurred during training before kickoff, when the two teams were lining up for the traditional exchange of greetings. Spence, who was forming in the English defense, shook hands with the Ghanaian players who preceded him and those who followed him, but when he reached Partey he visibly withdrew his arm and continued the line without saying a word. There was no external reaction from the Arsenal footballer, who remained with his hand extended in the air before resuming it without fuss.