Achraf Hakimi to face criminal trial after French court rejects rape appeal

Achraf Hakimi will face a criminal trial in France after the country’s highest court rejected his appeal against a rape accusation.

The Court of Cassation ruled that the appeal had no serious grounds for admission, according to French newspaper L’Equipe.

Bertrand Perret, the claimant’s lawyer before the Court of Cassation, said: “The Court of Cassation rejected Achraf Hakimi’s appeal and ruled that there were no serious grounds to accept it, in accordance with the reporting judge’s opinion and the prosecutor’s conclusions.”

The decision means Hakimi will be sent to a criminal court over an alleged rape said to have taken place on 25 February 2023.

The public prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, west of Paris, opened an investigation in 2023 after a woman aged 24 at the time accused the Paris Saint-Germain defender of rape.

According to French newspaper Le Parisien, prosecutors in Nanterre had requested that Hakimi be referred to a criminal court over the allegation.

Hakimi has consistently denied the accusation. In a post on his personal X account, he said: “Today, an accusation of rape is enough to justify holding a trial, even though I deny it and all the evidence proves that it is untrue.”

He added: “This injustice affects not only innocent people, but also genuine victims. I am calmly awaiting this trial, which will allow the truth to come out.”

Rape carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison in France.

Last August, Hakimi’s lawyer Fanny Colin told Radio Monte Carlo: “The prosecution is doing its job, but I am familiar with the case and I can confirm that there is a great deal of evidence clearing Hakimi. It will be the defence’s role to present it.”

She added: “We will fight this case to the end to reveal the truth. Achraf Hakimi did not say or do anything at all and has nothing for which he can be blamed.”

Hakimi joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 from Italian club Inter.

The Morocco international began his career at Real Madrid and also played for Borussia Dortmund and Inter before moving to Paris Saint-Germain.