French court confirmed that Achraf Hakimi must stand trial in a rape accusation case
The captain of Morocco's national football team and Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi will have to stand trial in France after the Court of Appeal in Versailles on June 19, 2026, rejected his appeal in proceedings being conducted over a rape accusation. According to an Associated Press report, the appeals court upheld an earlier decision by the investigating judge, according to which there are sufficient elements in the case file for the matter to continue before a criminal court. Hakimi, one of Morocco's best-known footballers and one of PSG's key figures, denies the accusations and claims that he did not commit a criminal offense. The trial date has not yet been announced, and the decision was made at a time when Morocco is competing at the 2026 World Cup, in a group with Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. The court decision does not mean a verdict on guilt, but the opening of the next phase of the proceedings in which the prosecution and the defense will present their arguments before the court.
Appeal rejected in Versailles
According to the Associated Press, Hakimi tried through the appeal to challenge the decision of the investigating judge from February 2026, which accepted the public prosecutor's recommendation that the case be sent to trial. The Court of Appeal in Versailles concluded that the investigation and judicial inquiry had provided enough grounds for the continuation of the criminal proceedings. This is a case that has been ongoing for more than three years, after formal proceedings were launched against the footballer in March 2023 based on the claims of a woman who was then 24 years old. According to available information, the alleged incident took place in February 2023 at Hakimi's home in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb west of Paris. French media and agencies state that the appeals court's decision means the case remains on the path toward trial, but that the hearing date has not been set.
In a statement carried by the Associated Press, the court said that the investigative chamber concluded there was sufficient evidence for a trial. Such wording is important because in French criminal procedure, referral to court does not represent a finding of guilt. The court still has to hear the parties, examine the evidence and decide on the allegations of the prosecution. Hakimi's defense claims that elements were collected during the investigation which, in their view, favor the footballer. On the other hand, the lawyer of the complainant, Rachel-Flore Pardo, welcomed the decision, stating according to the Associated Press that it brings her client a sense of relief and hope that the case will be heard in court.
What the complainant claims, and what the defense says
At the center of the proceedings are the claims of the woman who stated that Hakimi raped her in his home. According to the Associated Press report, the woman claimed that the assault occurred in a Paris suburb, after which the French prosecutor's office opened an investigation. Le Monde stated in an earlier report that, when deciding to refer the case to trial, the investigating judge took into account her statements, messages exchanged with a close person during and after the incident, and other elements collected in the investigation. The same newspaper reported that the defense disputes the credibility of the allegations, points to alleged contradictions and claims that certain actions by the complainant made it more difficult to establish the facts. The article also states that the investigating judge rejected the defense's argument about a possible extortion attempt as insufficiently substantiated at that stage of the proceedings.
Hakimi has denied the accusations several times, and after the appeals court's decision he spoke out on the platform X. According to the Associated Press, he wrote that he feels like an “easy target” because of his public recognizability and that he had remained silent for years because he trusted the judiciary. He also said that he is awaiting trial because, as he stated, he will “finally be able to speak”. His lawyer Fanny Colin said, according to the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, that the defense regrets that the court did not take into account what she describes as contradictions in the complainant's statements and other elements which, in her view, favor the footballer. Colin had earlier, according to Al Jazeera, claimed that the proceedings are based on the claims of a person who refused certain investigative actions, including medical examinations and mobile phone analysis.
The proceedings have been ongoing since 2023
The case first reached the broader public in 2023, when French authorities launched an investigation after a report of an alleged rape. According to Al Jazeera, the prosecutor's office in Nanterre opened an investigation after the woman accused Hakimi of rape. The Associated Press states that Hakimi faced preliminary charges in March 2023, and that the public prosecutor's office later recommended that the case go to trial. The investigating judge accepted that course in February 2026, after which the defense announced an appeal. The decision of June 19, 2026, now confirms that the appeal has not stopped the proceedings.
In the French legal system, cases of this gravity can go through a lengthy investigative process before they reach the courtroom. According to Légifrance, the official portal of French legislation, Article 222-23 of the Criminal Code defines rape as sexual penetration or certain sexual acts committed by violence, coercion, threat or surprise, and the basic form of the criminal offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. This legal qualification explains why the case is being conducted as a serious criminal proceeding and why the decisions of the investigating judge and the appeals court have major procedural significance. At the same time, the legal framework implies that the accused person remains innocent until any guilt is established by a final judgment. It will be precisely the trial, unless there are new procedural turns, that will be the space in which the evidence, statements and arguments of both sides are tested.
The decision came in the middle of the World Cup
The timing of the decision is particularly sensitive for the Moroccan national team because it was announced on the day of the match against Scotland in Group C of the 2026 World Cup. According to FIFA's schedule, the Scotland and Morocco match is scheduled for June 19 at Boston Stadium, while Brazil and Haiti are also in the same group. The Associated Press reported that the court's decision was announced several hours before the match and that Morocco drew 1:1 against Brazil in the first round. Thus the legal proceedings, which have been ongoing since 2023, once again came into the public focus during a period in which Hakimi is also under the greatest sporting attention. For a national team that, after its historic success at the 2022 World Cup, remained among the most closely followed African selections, the case opens an additional layer of pressure off the pitch.
In its official overview of Group C, FIFA describes Morocco as a 2022 World Cup semifinalist and one of the strongest African national teams, and Hakimi has for years been one of the most recognizable names of that team. In sporting terms, his role goes beyond the position of right-back: he is a player who participates in building attacks, has extensive experience in European football and holds symbolic status in the Moroccan national team. That is exactly why the French court's decision has a resonance that goes beyond judicial news. It simultaneously raises questions about managing reputational risks in elite sport, the attitude of clubs and national teams toward players in criminal proceedings, and the balance between the presumption of innocence and the right of complainants to have their case heard.
PSG had earlier distanced itself from fans' messages
The case had already provoked reactions in French football. Le Monde reported in March 2026 that PSG fans at a match at the Parc des Princes unfurled a banner of support for Hakimi the day after the investigating judge ordered that the case be referred to trial. According to the same source, the message prompted criticism from some feminist and civic organizations, which believed that such public support disregards the position of the person who filed the complaint. PSG then, according to Le Monde, stated that the content of such banners does not represent the official position of the club and emphasized that Hakimi remains protected by the presumption of innocence until the proceedings are concluded. The club also stressed that it strives to ensure a calm and legally grounded working environment for its player.
In sporting terms, Paris Saint-Germain is strongly connected to Hakimi, who joined the club in 2021 and has in the meantime become one of the most important members of the team. According to PSG's official announcements, Hakimi was named African Footballer of the Year in November 2025, and the club describes him as one of its prominent players and vice-captain. Such status explains why every decision in this case has a broader public effect, especially during major international competitions. Still, from a judicial perspective, a sporting career, trophies and public recognizability should be neither a mitigating nor an aggravating circumstance in establishing the facts. The court proceedings must be conducted according to evidence, not according to the reputation of either side.
What follows after the appeals court's decision
After the decision of the Court of Appeal in Versailles, the next key step will be setting the trial date, but according to available information on June 19, 2026, it is not yet known. The defense may continue to use available legal remedies, but the current decision means that the earlier order referring the case to trial remains in force. In practice, this means that the court will have to examine the accusations, the defense objections and the evidence collected during the multi-year proceedings. For the complainant, this represents the possibility that her statement will be publicly and judicially examined, while for Hakimi it gives the opportunity to present before the court the defense he has been announcing since the beginning of the proceedings. Until a final decision is made, the case remains open, and all claims of guilt must be made with a clear note that the court has not yet established them.
The case against Hakimi comes in a period in which European football increasingly has to answer questions about sexual violence, the responsibility of institutions and the way clubs communicate cases involving well-known players. The complainant's lawyer Rachel-Flore Pardo said, according to the Associated Press, that the decision gives hope that sexual violence in men's football will be discussed more seriously. The defense, meanwhile, claims that the proceedings are unfounded and that the trial will allow elements favorable to Hakimi to be presented. Precisely because of these opposing claims, public interest in the case will be great, but its legal weight will be measured exclusively by evidence before the court. Until then, the fact remains that the appeal has been rejected, that the prosecution continues and that one of Morocco's best-known athletes is entering the most important phase of criminal proceedings in France.
Sources:
- Associated Press – report on the decision of the Court of Appeal in Versailles, statements by the parties and the status of the proceedings (link)
- Le Monde – background of the case, allegations from the investigative proceedings, PSG's reactions and discussion of the fans' banner (link)
- Al Jazeera – earlier report on the order for trial, the defense's position and the investigation by the prosecutor's office in Nanterre (link)
- FIFA – official schedule and context of Group C of the 2026 World Cup (link)
- Légifrance – Article 222-23 of the French Criminal Code on the definition and penalty for rape (link)
- Paris Saint-Germain – official information on Hakimi's role in the club and the recognition for African Footballer of the Year 2025 (link)