England boss Thomas Tuchel blocked from answering question on Djed Spence's Thomas Partey snub

England and Tottenham full-back Djed Spence refused to shake Thomas Partey's hand before the Three Lions drew with Ghana at the World Cup in Boston

Thomas Tuchel was prevented from answering a question on Djed Spence's decision to snub a pre-match handshake with Thomas Partey during his post-match press conference.

The Tottenham full-back appeared to point his hand down and put it into his pocket as ex-Arsenal midfielder Partey approached him.

Spence was the only England player not to shake hands with the Ghana midfielder, who was denied entry into Canada for his nation's first World Cup group fixture against Panama in Toronto.

The 33-year-old will stand trial next year after pleading not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, all of which are alleged to have taken place between 2020 and 2022.

During his post-match press conference, Tuchel was asked for his verdict on Spence's decision to snub Partey but he was blocked from answering by England Communications Lead Andy Walker due to "legal" matters.

Defender Dan Burn was also blocked from answering a question on whether England's players were willing to shake Partey's hand in the build-up to the match.

Tuchel initially appeared ready to respond to the question as he also reflected on his side's underwhelming performance and result at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough but he did not comment.

Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz also had his say on Spence's decision to ignore Partey and said: "It did not happen [handshake], as you saw, in the comments of Thomas, we refuse to be part of people that try to bring dust and politics inside the game.

"We fight to keep the frontline sacred. It's difficult sometimes but it happens, we have to congratulate everyone on the game, we leave politics outside of the game"

On the pitch, the Three Lions endured frustration as they drew their second game at their fourth successive major tournament.

They hit the crossbar through Nico O'Reilly and also had an effort cleared off the line as they piled the pressure on Ghana, who defended in a deep block.

Carlos Queiroz's side felt they could have had a penalty in the second half though when Ezri Konsa caught Prince Kwabena Adu in the box.

Captain Harry Kane shared his disappointment as England fluffed the chance to wrap up first place, explaining: "Obviously disappointed not to win the game. It's a game we knew we had loads of possession, we did and they defended well in a low compact block and made it difficult to play in the middle or the pitch, so the game was outside and one v one duels. I think both ends of the half in the first and second half we got some momentum there and chances.

"It's a game we could've walked away 1-0, 2-0 and moved on.It was never going to be the prettiest game because of the way they played. Credit to them, they defended well, dangerous on the counter-attack. Overall, we defended that pretty well. They didn't have many chances. We take the point and move on."

England now face Panama in New Jersey in their final Group L game on Saturday.

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