Achraf Hakimi Faces Criminal Trial Amid World Cup Campaign

The sporting spotlight is no longer the only glare on Achraf Hakimi.

As he leads Morocco at the 2026 World Cup, the 27-year-old defender now does so with the weight of a looming criminal trial on his shoulders, after French authorities ruled there is sufficient evidence for him to stand trial on a rape charge.

Appeals court clears path to trial

The case dates back to February 2023, when a young woman reported she had been sexually assaulted at Hakimi’s home in Boulogne-Billancourt, just outside Paris. What followed was a lengthy judicial process, stretching over three years and involving a full judicial inquiry.

Prosecutors had already formally requested a trial. The decisive step came when the appeals court confirmed the final judicial referral, backing the view of legal authorities in Hauts-de-Seine that the investigation had produced enough evidence to bypass any further preliminary stages and move directly to a full criminal trial.

For the civil party, it marked a crucial moment.

Rachel-Flore Pardo, lawyer for the complainant, hailed the ruling as a firm validation of the work done by investigators and prosecutors. She underlined that the investigating chamber had found “sufficient evidence against Achraf Hakimi for having committed rape,” calling the decision consistent with the case file and aligned with the positions of the public prosecutor, the investigating judge, and the advocate general at the Court of Appeal.

Pardo said the ruling brought her client “relief and hope” – hope that the trial could encourage other women to come forward and chip away at what she described as a “fortress of denial and impunity” surrounding sexual violence, including at the highest levels of men’s football.

Hakimi breaks silence and denounces “false accusation”

Hakimi, who had largely remained silent in public throughout the investigation, chose this moment to speak out on social media.

“The court looked me in the eye and said: ‘If you weren’t famous, there would never have been a case,’” he wrote, explaining that he had opted for silence for years, believing that staying “dignified,” being patient, and trusting the justice system would be enough for “the right decisions to be made.”

His legal team has taken an even more combative line. They insist the investigation uncovered a “multitude of exculpatory elements” which, they argue, should have led to the case being dismissed in any other context. From their perspective, the appeals court ruling is a grave misjudgment.

“The multitude of exculpatory elements revealed by the investigation and the judicial inquiry would, in any other case, have led to a dismissal,” his lawyer said, maintaining that Hakimi is now “eagerly awaiting his trial” so he can finally address what they describe as a “false accusation” in a public courtroom.

Two sharply opposed narratives now head toward the same destination: a French criminal court, where the evidence will be tested in full view.

World Cup duty under intense scrutiny

All of this breaks at a delicate, almost surreal moment in Hakimi’s career. Far from the corridors of the Hauts-de-Seine courts, he is captaining Morocco on the biggest stage in the game.

The timing could hardly be more fraught. Morocco face Scotland in a pivotal second group-stage match on Friday evening, a fixture that would command attention in its own right. Instead, every step Hakimi takes onto the pitch comes with questions about the case, the upcoming trial, and the psychological toll of what lies ahead.

For his national team, the situation is complex. On the field, Hakimi remains a cornerstone: an attacking full-back of rare influence, a leader in a golden generation that has already rewritten African football history. Off it, he is now at the centre of a legal storm that stretches far beyond sport.

The contrast is stark. One day, he is in training gear, preparing for Scotland. The next, his name sits in legal documents in Paris, attached to a charge that carries enormous personal and professional consequences.

PSG watching, France waiting

Back in France, Paris Saint-Germain are monitoring events with obvious concern. Pre-season is on the horizon, and with it decisions about how to handle a player who is both central to their project and now formally heading to trial.

A definitive trial date is expected to be set soon. When it comes, it will not just shape Hakimi’s immediate future with club and country. It will also test how elite football responds when one of its most recognisable figures stands accused in a criminal court, with both sides insisting justice is on their side.

For now, the defender walks a narrow line: captain of Morocco in a World Cup he has long dreamed of, and a defendant-in-waiting in a case that will define far more than his season.