Morocco captain and Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in France on a rape charge, after a French appeals court rejected his bid to dismiss the case.
The Versailles Court of Appeal ruled on Friday, June 19, that Hakimi, 27, will face trial before the criminal court in Hauts-de-Seine. The decision upholds a trial order first issued in February. No trial date has been set. The case stems from an allegation made in February 2023, when a woman told police that Hakimi assaulted her at his home in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris.
Investigators say the two first made contact on Instagram in January 2023, and that the woman traveled to Hakimi's home while his family was away. She alleges non-consensual sexual acts occurred there before she left with help from a friend. The Nanterre prosecutor's office opened an investigation in March 2023.
Hakimi has consistently denied wrongdoing. In a statement posted Friday, he said he had been waiting for the trial and was looking forward to speaking publicly. His lawyer has said the trial order does not establish guilt.
The plaintiff's lawyer said the ruling brought relief to her client, who wants to be heard in court. Hakimi remains free on bail and started for Morocco against Scotland at the World Cup in Boston hours after the ruling was confirmed.