Achraf Hakimi to Stand Trial in Rape Case, French Appeals Court Confirms

A French appeals court has confirmed that Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case, lawyers told The Associated Press on Friday.

The defender, currently representing Morocco while competing in international fixtures, had appealed a February decision by an investigative judge. That ruling followed prosecutors’ recommendations that he should face trial.

The Versailles appeals court’s decision was released just hours before Morocco were due to face Scotland in a Group C match. Morocco had drawn 1–1 with Brazil in their opening game.

Hakimi, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading right-backs, denies any wrongdoing. He was placed under preliminary investigation for rape in March 2023 after a 24-year-old woman alleged she was assaulted at his home in a Paris suburb.

Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the complainant, said that after more than three years of legal proceedings, “and after being defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defence,” the court’s decision “brings my client a sense of relief and hope.”

“Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have her case heard at trial,” Pardo said in a statement to the AP. “Hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the fortress of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including within the world of men’s football.”

Hakimi, meanwhile, posted on X that he believes the case would have been dismissed had he not been famous, claiming he has sometimes felt like “an easy target.”

“Justice looked me in the eye and told me: ‘If you were not famous, there would never have been a case,’” he wrote. “I chose to remain silent for years. I believed that staying dignified, being patient, and trusting the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made.”

He added that the proceedings have affected not only him, but also his family, “and above all, the truth.”

“I have been waiting for this trial since the first day. And I am now waiting for it impatiently,” he wrote. “Finally, I will be able to speak.”

A trial date has not yet been announced.

Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, told the AP that “the multitude of exculpatory elements uncovered during the investigation and judicial inquiry would, in any other case, have led to the dismissal of the proceedings.”

She added that the defence regretted “that no consequences were drawn from the contradictions and false statements made by the complainant, her concealment of information from the judicial authorities, her obstruction of the search for the truth, and the psychological assessments noting both her ambivalence and her lack of clarity regarding the events she reported.”

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