Thomas Partey, a former midfielder for Arsenal, entered a not guilty plea at Southwark Crown Court to five charges of rape and one act of sexual assault.
The 32-year-old is charged with sexually assaulting a third lady and raping two women.
He was a player for Arsenal from 2021 to 2022, when the alleged acts occurred.
During a 14-minute hearing on Wednesday, Partey only spoke to confirm his name, birthdate, and not guilty pleas.
On November 2 of next year, the Ghanaian midfielder, who currently plays for Villarreal of Spain, will stand trial before a High Court judge in the same court.
Although he was not identified at the time of his initial arrest in July 2022, Partey continued to play for Arsenal while the inquiry was underway until the end of June, when his contract expired. On July 4, a few days later, he was charged.
In July, Mikel Arteta, the head coach of Arsenal, declared that he was “100 per cent” certain that the team had followed all the right procedures regarding the arrest and investigation.
A prior statement from an Arsenal representative stated: “The player’s contract expired on June 30. The club is unable to comment on the case due to current legal actions.
Partey appeared in court the day after substituting for Tottenham Hotspur in Villarreal’s Champions League match in London.
Judge Christopher Hehir informed Partey at the end of the hearing: “On November 2 of next year, 2026, your trial will be held before this court.
“I appreciate that is quite a long way in advance. As you may appreciate, the crown courts have a huge backlog of work which means that trials do take a long time to come on.
“Because you have bail, effectively you are sitting behind a queue of people in prison who are waiting to be tried.”
The judge granted bail with the same restrictions that Partey had been given at a prior hearing: he was not allowed to speak to any of the three ladies and was required to inform the police of any permanent address changes or foreign travel.
In 2020, Partey, who had previously given his address as Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, moved to Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for £45 million.
Last season, he scored four goals in 35 Premier League outings for the North London team.
Partey has represented Ghana in more than 50 games, including the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup.
