A French appeals court confirmed on Friday that Moroccan football star Achraf Hakimi will face trial over the alleged rape of a woman in 2023 – an accusation the Paris Saint-Germain right-back strongly denies.
In February 2023, a woman, then aged 24, told police in the Val-de-Marne region, south-east of Paris, that Hakimi had raped her.
The PSG defender, who also captains the Moroccan national side – whose second match of the 2026 World Cup kicks off on Friday against Scotland – has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Shortly after the Versailles Court of Appeal delivered its ruling, Hakimi wrote on X that he had been ‘waiting for this trial since day one’.
‘At last, I’ll be able to speak,’ he said.
A date for the trial at the criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department has yet to be announced.
Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, said: ‘This confirmation was expected. Nothing here suggests he is guilty of anything; he remains steadfast in his defence.’
The complainant’s solicitor, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said the decision had brought her client ‘relief and hope’.
The complainant says she met Hakimi on Instagram in January 2023 and went to his home in a taxi ordered by the player, according to a police source at the time. She alleged that the player kissed her, touched her without her consent and then raped her. She said she managed to push him away and sent a text message to a friend, who came to collect her.
Speaking to the press for the first time, in a Mediapart article published on Thursday, the woman – using the pseudonym Jeanne – said she wanted a trial ‘to defend myself, to be heard’.
‘I want to explain myself. I want people to believe me,’ she added.