Achraf Hakimi Ordered to Stand Trial for Rape

Achraf Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain full-back and captain of Morocco, has been ordered to stand trial for rape after a French court confirmed on Friday that the case will go before a criminal court.

The 27-year-old, one of the biggest names in African football, has denied the allegations from the outset and reacted publicly to the decision. In a post on X, he said he was "eagerly awaiting" the trial, arguing it would finally allow him "to speak" in full about the case.

The charges stem from a complaint filed in February 2023. A woman, then 24, told police in the Val-de-Marne region, southeast of Paris, that Hakimi raped her. The alleged incident has shadowed Hakimi’s club and international career ever since, even as he continues to play at the highest level and leads Morocco, whose national team is playing its second World Cup match on Friday against Scotland.

Hakimi has consistently rejected the accusations. His legal team framed the court’s confirmation as a procedural step, not a judgment on guilt.

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

On the other side of the case, the decision landed with clear emotional weight. The plaintiff’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, described the ruling as a moment of "relief and hope" for her client, who has now chosen to speak publicly for the first time.

Known under the pseudonym "Jeanne," the woman detailed her account in an article published Thursday by Mediapart. She said she met Hakimi on Instagram in January 2023 and later went to his home in a taxi ordered by the player, according to a police source cited at the time.

She alleges that once there, Hakimi kissed her, touched her without her consent and then raped her. She says she managed to push him away and text a friend, who came to pick her up.

"I want a trial to defend myself, to be heard," she said in the interview. "I want to explain myself. I want people to believe me."

For now, no date has been set for the start of proceedings at the criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department, just outside Paris. The timeline remains unclear, but the path is set: one of the sport’s most high-profile defenders will have to answer the charges in open court, with careers, reputations and, above all, lives shaped by what happens next.