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3 min readUpdated: Jun 19, 2026 07:30 PM IST
Achraf Hakimi shakes hands with teammates. (FILE photo)
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi will stand a rape trial, said the French prosecutors, after a woman accused the Paris Saint-Germain footballer of rape in 2023.
Hakimi who will lead his side against Scotland on Friday, has denied the accusations.
“The justice system looked me in the eye and said, ‘If you weren’t famous, there would never have been a case,'” Hakimi wrote on social media on Friday.
“I chose to remain silent for years. I believed that maintaining my dignity, being patient, and trusting in the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made.
“Today, a story that isn’t mine is being told at the expense of my family, my life, and above all, the truth. I sometimes feel like I’ve become an easy target.
“I’ve been waiting for this trial since day one. And now I’m eagerly awaiting it. Finally, I’ll be able to speak.”
Rachel-Flore Pardo, who initiated the lawsuit, said: “Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have the right to a trial.
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“Hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the wall of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including in the world of men’s football.”
It was not immediately clear when the trial would start. The Versailles appeals court, Hakimi’s lawyer, PSG and the Moroccan national football association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It was also not immediately clear if Hakimi would take to the pitch in Boston later on Friday.
The Nanterre prosecutor’s office opened an investigation in 2023 after an allegation of rape was made against Hakimi. French newspaper Le Parisien reported at the time that a then-24-year-old woman said she had been raped.
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“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,” Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, told the AP.
“Achraf Hakimi’s defense regrets 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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