A French appeals court on Friday confirmed that Moroccan football star Achraf Hakimi will face trial over the alleged rape of a woman in 2023, a charge the Paris Saint-Germain defender denies, News.Az reports, citing AFP.

In February 2023, a woman then aged 24 told police in the Val-de-Marne region, southeast of Paris, that Hakimi had raped her.

Hakimi, who plays as a right-back for Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Moroccan national team, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. His second match of the 2026 World Cup is scheduled to kick off on Friday against Scotland.

Shortly after the Versailles Court of Appeal issued its ruling, Hakimi wrote on X that he had been “waiting for this trial since day one.”

“At last, I’ll be able to speak,” he said.

A date has not yet been set for the start of the trial at the criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department.

Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, said the decision was expected and does not indicate guilt, adding that he “remains steadfast in his defence.”

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said the ruling brought her client “relief and hope.”

According to a police source at the time, the plaintiff said she met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram and later went to his home in a taxi ordered by the player.

She alleged that he kissed her, touched her without consent, and then raped her.

She said she managed to push him away and text a friend, who came to pick her up.

In a Mediapart article published Thursday, the woman—identified under the pseudonym “Jeanne”—said she wanted a trial “to defend myself, to be heard.”

“I want to explain myself. I want people to believe me,” she added.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev