Achraf Hakimi has been ordered to stand trial on rape charges in France after losing an appeal, a legal turn that pushes one of the sport’s most closely watched cases out of the investigation phase and toward a courtroom hearing. The Versailles appeal court said an investigating chamber had found enough evidence to send the 27-year-old Paris Saint-Germain defender to trial.
The ruling lands while Hakimi is still on duty for Morocco at the 2026 World Cup, which is why the case is drawing fresh attention now. He played the full 90 minutes of Morocco’s group-stage opener against Brazil on June 13, and Morocco face Scotland in Foxborough on Friday. For a player under criminal scrutiny, the calendar has made no allowance.
Hakimi had already confirmed in February that he expected to face trial, and he has always denied any wrongdoing. On X, he said he had been waiting for the trial since day one and was looking forward to it, adding that he believed he would finally be able to speak. That message matched the line he has repeated throughout the case: that he remained silent for years because he wanted the justice system to do its work.
The friction now is that his version of events and the court’s assessment point in opposite directions. While Hakimi says he has done nothing wrong and says he was ready to answer accusations in court, Rachel-Flore Pardo said the decision brought her client relief and hope. In a statement, she said the investigating chamber had ruled there was sufficient evidence against Hakimi for rape, and said six judges found the incriminating elements strong enough to justify sending him before the Departmental Criminal Court for rape.
The case dates back to March 2023, after a 24-year-old woman claimed in February 2023 that Hakimi assaulted her. More than three years later, the matter has now moved into the next stage, with the appeal court confirming what the earlier judges had already concluded: the evidence is sufficient for a trial. What remains unclear is when that trial will begin, and whether it will become the forum where Hakimi finally gives the account he says he has been waiting to deliver.
