Achraf Hakimi to Stand Trial for Rape Charge

A French court has confirmed that Achraf Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain defender and captain of Morocco’s national team, will stand trial on a rape charge, a decision that pushes one of football’s most high-profile figures into the full glare of the judicial spotlight.

The 27-year-old, a mainstay for PSG and a star of Morocco’s recent rise on the world stage, has denied the allegations from the outset and said he is “eagerly awaiting” his day in court. In a post on X, Hakimi insisted the accusations are false and said the trial will finally allow him “to speak”.

The case dates back to February 2023. A woman, then 24, went to police in the Val-de-Marne region, southeast of Paris, and accused Hakimi of raping her. According to a police source at the time, she told investigators she had first made contact with the player on Instagram in January 2023.

Their online exchanges led to a meeting at Hakimi’s home. The woman said she travelled there in a taxi ordered by the player. Once inside, she claimed Hakimi kissed her and touched her without her consent before raping her. She told police she managed to push him away and send a text message to a friend, who then came to collect her.

Hakimi has consistently rejected the version of events laid out by the complainant. His legal team has framed the court’s decision as a procedural step rather than a judgment on his conduct.

“This confirmation was expected. Nothing here says that he is guilty of anything, he remains steadfast in his defence,” his lawyer, Fanny Colin, said after the ruling.

On the other side of the case, the court’s move landed with a very different weight. For the woman at the centre of the complaint, the decision to send the case to trial marks a turning point.

Her lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, described the ruling as a source of “relief and hope” for her client.

Until this week, the complainant had remained publicly silent. Speaking for the first time in an interview with Mediapart, and using the pseudonym “Jeanne”, she said she wanted a trial “to defend myself, to be heard”.

“I want to explain myself. I want people to believe me,” she said.

The criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department will now handle the case, but no date has yet been set for the start of the trial. That uncertainty hangs over a player still central to both club and country.

While the legal process gathers pace, Hakimi remains a key figure for Morocco, whose national team are playing their second World Cup match on Friday against Scotland. The contrast is stark: a defender fighting on the pitch for his country’s ambitions, and off it for his reputation and future, with the next whistle to sound not from a referee, but from a judge announcing the opening of his trial.