Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi will stand trial over a rape allegation after France’s highest court rejected his final appeal on Wednesday.
The Court of Cassation’s decision clears the way for the case to proceed before a criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department. The ruling followed earlier decisions that ordered Hakimi to stand trial over the allegation dating back to 2023.
Hakimi, 27, has consistently denied the allegation and maintains that the encounter with the woman was consensual.
Court Rejects Final Appeal
Hakimi had challenged the decision ordering him to trial after a Versailles appeals court upheld it in June.
His appeal to the Court of Cassation represented his final legal challenge to the decision to send the case to trial.
The court’s decision does not amount to a finding of guilt or establish the truth of the allegations. Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, stressed that the merits of the case had not been examined by the Court of Cassation and would instead be addressed during the trial.
She said Hakimi had consistently contested the allegations and had cooperated with investigators.
Allegation Dates Back to 2023
The case began in February 2023 when a woman, then 24, reported to police that Hakimi had raped her at his home in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris.
According to the account reported by French authorities and media, the woman said she met Hakimi through Instagram and later visited his home after he arranged a taxi for her.
She alleged that Hakimi sexually assaulted her before she managed to contact a friend, who came to collect her.
Hakimi was subsequently charged with rape and has denied the accusation from the beginning.
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Both Sides Prepare for Trial
The complainant’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said her client remained determined to pursue the case after more than three years of legal proceedings.
Hakimi’s legal team, however, maintains that the allegations have not been established and will present his defence when the case reaches trial.
Colin has also raised several issues concerning evidence and the complainant’s cooperation with investigators. Those claims are disputed and will form part of the legal proceedings rather than established findings.
The trial will therefore be the stage at which the evidence and competing accounts are examined in detail.
Hakimi, who is also captain of Morocco, continues to play for Paris Saint-Germain while the legal case proceeds.
The date for the criminal trial has not yet been announced.