Achraf Hakimi Appeals French Court Decision to Stand Trial in Rape Case

Moroccan football star Achraf Hakimi has appealed a French court’s decision to send him to trial over a rape allegation dating back to 2023. The appeal was filed with France’s Court of Cassation after an appeals court upheld the decision to try the Paris Saint-Germain defender. 

Hakimi has repeatedly denied the accusation and said he had been waiting for the trial so he could finally present his side of the case.

The court’s decision to uphold the trial against Hakimi, which many view as calculated, comes at a sensitive moment in his career, as he is currently at the peak of his performances with Paris Saint-Germain and the Moroccan national team. 

The 27-year-old captain is currently leading Morocco at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where the Atlas Lions have reached the Round of 32 after finishing second in Group C with seven points, behind Brazil on goal difference.

Shortly after the appeals court confirmed the trial, Hakimi wrote on X that he had been waiting for the case to reach trial.

“I have been waiting for this trial from the beginning. Finally, I can speak,” he wrote.

Hakimi does not consider the decision to send the case to trial as a setback but an opportunity to finally present his version of events in court. “Justice looked me in the eye and told me: ‘If you weren’t a public figure, there would never have been a case,'” Hakimi added.

He added that he had remained silent for more than three years because he trusted the judicial process and was now looking forward to speaking during the trial.

His lawyer, Fanny Colin, also maintained the player’s innocence, saying the appeals court’s decision “was expected” and did not mean Hakimi was guilty. She argued that the investigation had uncovered evidence favorable to the footballer and criticized what she described as inconsistencies in the complainant’s account. 

Colin has previously said the defense believes the case would have been dismissed under different circumstances, but that it will now present its arguments before the criminal court.

The case dates back to February 2023, when a 24-year-old woman reported to police in Val-de-Marne, southeast of Paris, that Hakimi had raped her. According to police, the woman said she met the footballer through Instagram in January 2023 before visiting his home in a taxi he arranged.

She alleged that Hakimi kissed and touched her without her consent before raping her. Hakimi has consistently denied the accusation.

Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the complainant, welcomed the latest court decision, saying that every ruling in the case so far has been in her client’s favor and that she would continue seeking justice.