Achraf Hakimi Faces Trial for Rape Allegations Amid World Cup Campaign

Achraf Hakimi, captain of Morocco and star defender for Paris St-Germain, has been ordered to stand trial for rape in France, casting a stark shadow over his World Cup campaign.

French prosecutors in Nanterre, on the western outskirts of Paris, confirmed that a trial will go ahead over allegations that Hakimi raped a 24-year-old woman at his home in 2023. A preliminary investigation began in March of that year; in February 2026, an investigating judge ruled that the case should proceed to trial. According to French media, a recent appeal by the 27-year-old to have the case thrown out has failed.

Hakimi has denied the accusations from the outset. On Friday, on the eve of Morocco’s second World Cup group match against Scotland in the United States, he chose to speak publicly at length.

“The justice system looked me in the eye and said, ‘If you weren’t famous, there would never have been a case,’” he wrote on social media. “I chose to remain silent for years. I believed that maintaining my dignity, being patient, and trusting in the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made.

“Today, a story that isn’t mine is being told at the expense of my family, my life, and above all, the truth. I sometimes feel like I’ve become an easy target.

“I’ve been waiting for this trial since day one. And now I’m eagerly awaiting it. Finally, I’ll be able to speak.”

On the other side of the legal battle, the woman who accused Hakimi has welcomed the decision to send the case to trial.

Her lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said in a statement: “After more than three years of legal proceedings, and after my client was, in her view, defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defence, this decision brings her relief and hope.

“Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have the right to a trial.

“Hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the wall of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including in the world of men’s football.”

No date has yet been set for the start of the trial, but its implications are already stretching far beyond the courtroom.

Hakimi is set to lead Morocco out for their second World Cup fixture against Scotland on Friday (23:00 BST), part of a group stage schedule that keeps the Atlas Lions entirely on American soil. All three of Morocco’s group matches are being staged in the United States, where the squad is currently based, offering a degree of short-term certainty for their captain’s participation.

That clarity vanishes if Morocco progress.

With the tournament spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico until the quarter-finals, the defender could face serious obstacles entering either Canada or Mexico should knockout fixtures take place there. Canadian authorities have already shown a hard line.

Last week, Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey missed his country’s opener against Panama after being denied entry to World Cup co-hosts Canada. The 32-year-old has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022, and is due to stand trial next year.

Canada’s government website states it can deny entry to any person who has “committed or been convicted of a crime” — wording that leaves room for strict interpretation in high-profile, ongoing cases and raises obvious questions about how far co-host nations will go in policing eligibility at their borders.

For Hakimi, the legal storm arrives at a peak in his career. He has 97 caps for Morocco, having made his debut in 2016 as a 17-year-old, and became one of the faces of African football during Morocco’s historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, the first time an African nation had reached that stage.

At club level, he joined Paris St-Germain from Inter Milan in 2021 and has since stacked up 13 trophies, including back-to-back Champions League titles over the past two seasons, cementing his reputation as one of the most influential full-backs in the modern game.

Now, though, his future is framed as much by legal documents as by tactical diagrams. A World Cup played across three countries, a captaincy under the glare of global scrutiny, and a looming trial in Nanterre: Hakimi walks into every stadium knowing that the biggest contest of his career will not be settled on a pitch.