Hakimi Faces Appeals Hearing That Could Shape His Future
Achraf Hakimi’s immediate future, on and off the pitch, now hangs on a courtroom in Versailles rather than a touchline in Paris.
The 27-year-old Morocco international, charged with raping a woman in early 2023, will see his case examined by the Versailles appeals court, west of the French capital, in a crucial hearing that could shape the next phase of his career and his life.
If the court rejects his appeal and refuses to downgrade the charge to a lesser offence, Hakimi will stand trial for rape on a date yet to be set. If the charge is reduced, the legal landscape changes dramatically. For now, everything is in the balance.
Allegations from February 2023
The case stems from a complaint filed in February 2023 by a woman then aged 24. She told police in the Val-de-Marne area, southeast of Paris, that Hakimi had raped her.
Following her complaint, the Paris Saint-Germain defender was formally charged and placed under judicial supervision. In February this year, authorities decided to send the case to trial, prompting the appeal now before the Versailles court.
Hakimi has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
According to a police source at the time, the woman said she met Hakimi in January 2023 via Instagram. She then went to his home in a taxi ordered by the player. Once there, she claimed, he kissed her and touched her without consent before raping her.
She told investigators she eventually managed to push him away and text a friend, who came to pick her up.
Defence contests the case
Contacted by AFP, Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, declined to comment ahead of the appeals hearing.
During the earlier referral hearing, however, Colin sharply challenged the strength of the case, arguing that “the accusation rests solely on the word of a woman who obstructed all investigations, refused all medical examinations and DNA tests (and) refused to give the name of key witnesses”.
The court must now weigh those arguments against the initial decision to send the case to trial and determine whether the charge stands as rape or is reclassified.
Star under scrutiny
Hakimi’s situation unfolds against the backdrop of a packed and glittering football calendar.
Since joining PSG from Inter Milan in 2021, after formative spells at Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, he has become one of the most influential full-backs in the game. His surging runs and relentless energy were central to Morocco’s historic run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2022, when they became the first African and Arab team to reach the last four.
On the pitch, nothing in his schedule has yet shifted. He is expected to line up for PSG when the defending champions face Arsenal in the Champions League final on May 30 in Budapest, a showcase that would normally be framed simply as the latest stage in his rise.
His international commitments are just as significant. Barring injury, Hakimi is certain to be in the Morocco squad when they open their World Cup campaign against Brazil on June 13 in New Jersey in Group C, which also features Scotland and Haiti.
Between now and then, the Versailles appeals court will take its turn with the spotlight. The judgment there will not decide trophies or titles, but it may define how – and where – one of the sport’s most prominent defenders plays out the prime of his career.
