Milan, 19 June (LaPresse) – The Versailles Court of Appeal in France confirmed on Friday that Achraf Hakimi, star player for Paris Saint-Germain and the Moroccan national team, is to stand trial on rape charges, according to his lawyers speaking to the Associated Press. The defender, who is currently playing for Morocco at the World Cup after winning the Champions League for the second year running with PSG, had appealed against a decision by an investigating judge in February. That decision followed recommendations from the public prosecutor’s office, which had called for Hakimi to be committed for trial. The court’s decision was announced just a few hours before Morocco’s Group C match against Scotland. Hakimi denies all charges. He was provisionally charged with rape in March 2023, after a 24-year-old woman claimed she had been raped by Hakimi at his home in a Paris suburb. Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the complainant, stated that, after more than three years of legal proceedings, “and after being defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defence team”, the court’s decision “brings my client a sense of relief and hope”. “Relief that she has been heard by the courts and that her case will be heard in court,” Pardo said in a statement.
PSG: Player confirmed to face trial for rape; Hakimi: ‘Just because I’m famous’
Milan, 19 June (LaPresse) – The Versailles Court of Appeal in France confirmed on Friday that Achraf Hakimi, star player for Paris Saint-Germain and the Moroccan national team, is to stand trial on rape charges, according to his lawyers speaking to the Associated Press. The defender, who is currently playing for Morocco at the World Cup after winning the Champions League for the second year running with PSG, had appealed against a decision by an investigating judge in February. That decision followed recommendations from the public prosecutor’s office, which had called for Hakimi to be committed for trial. The court’s decision was announced just a few hours before Morocco’s Group C match against Scotland. Hakimi denies all charges. He was provisionally charged with rape in March 2023, after a 24-year-old woman claimed she had been raped by Hakimi at his home in a Paris suburb. Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the complainant, stated that, after more than three years of legal proceedings, “and after being defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defence team”, the court’s decision “brings my client a sense of relief and hope”. “Relief that she has been heard by the courts and that her case will be heard in court,” Pardo said in a statement.
