Achraf Hakimi is set to stand trial in France on a rape charge tied to allegations from 2023, putting one of Morocco's biggest football names back at the center of a case that has followed him for more than two years. The 27-year-old Paris Saint-Germain defender and Morocco captain strongly denies the allegations and says he looks forward to his day in court.
The trial step matters because it moves the case out of the investigation stage and into open court, where a judge or panel can hear the evidence and decide whether the accusation holds up. Hakimi was indicted by an investigating judge in Nanterre on March 3, 2023, after a then-24-year-old woman said she met him over Instagram in January 2023, later went to her home and said he forcibly kissed and touched her before allegedly raping her.
For readers trying to place Hakimi, the legal news lands on top of a career that has made him one of the most recognizable players in African football. He was born in Madrid and raised in Getafe, came through Club Deportivo Colonia Ofigevi before moving to the Real Madrid academy, and made his senior Real Madrid debut in a friendly against Paris Saint-Germain at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on July 27, 2016. He went on to win the 2017-18 Champions League Final with Real Madrid against Liverpool FC 3-1 in Kyiv, then played on loan for Borussia Dortmund in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons before signing for Inter Milan and later taking a five-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain.
He has also become central to Morocco's national team story. Hakimi made his senior debut against Canada on Oct. 11, 2016, has 101 appearances and 12 goals for Morocco, and has played at the 2018, 2022 and 2026 World Cups. He helped Morocco win the 2025 African Cup of Nations on home soil, took bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics and was named the 2025 AFCON Player of the Year. After starting against Scotland at Boston Stadium on June 19, he became the most capped African player in World Cup history.
What remains unresolved is the exact date the French trial will begin. But the case is no longer only about an accusation from 2023; it is moving into the phase where Hakimi must answer it in court while still carrying the weight of his role at Paris Saint-Germain and as Morocco's captain.
