French prosecutors have officially confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco national team captain Achraf Hakimi will face trial on rape charges, a development that has thrown the 27-year-old fullback’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign into uncertainty ahead of his side’s second group stage fixture against Scotland this Friday.
The allegations date back to 2023, when a 24-year-old woman accused the star defender of assaulting her at Hakimi’s private residence in Paris. Authorities in Nanterre, the western Paris suburb overseeing the case, launched an initial preliminary investigation in March 2023. After more than three years of procedural review, an investigating judge ordered the case proceed to trial in February 2026. Multiple French media outlets have reported that Hakimi’s recent appeal to have the charges dismissed was rejected.
Hakimi has vehemently denied all allegations against him from the beginning, and broke his years-long public silence on the case in a social media post published Friday. “The justice system looked me in the eye and said, ‘If you weren’t famous, there would never have been a case,’” he wrote.
The World Cup star explained that he chose to stay out of public discourse for years out of a commitment to preserving his dignity and confidence in France’s judicial process. “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,” Hakimi added. “I’ve been waiting for this trial since day one. And now I’m eagerly awaiting it. Finally, I’ll be able to speak.”
Rachel-Flore Pardo, the legal representative for the accuser, said the judge’s ruling to proceed to trial brings her client both relief and hope, after more than three years of navigating the legal process. Pardo noted that her client believes she has been defamed and publicly maligned by Hakimi’s defense team. “Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have the right to a trial,” Pardo said. “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.”
As of this reporting, no official start date has been scheduled for the trial. All three of Morocco’s group stage matches at the 2026 co-hosted World Cup are set to take place in the United States, where the Moroccan squad is currently based, leaving Hakimi able to play for the time being. However, if Morocco advances to the knockout round, the team could be forced to play matches in co-host nations Canada or Mexico, where Hakimi may face entry restrictions.
This scenario is not unprecedented at this tournament: last week, Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey was denied entry to Canada and forced to miss his country’s opening group stage match against Panama. Partey, 32, has pleaded not guilty to seven rape charges and one count of sexual assault leveled by four separate accuser for alleged incidents between 2020 and 2022, and he is scheduled to go to trial in 2027. Canadian immigration rules explicitly allow officials to deny entry to any person who has been alleged or convicted of a criminal offense.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup splits matches across all three North American co-hosts through the quarter-final round, after which all remaining fixtures will be hosted exclusively in the United States.
One of the most decorated active African footballers, Hakimi made his senior international debut for Morocco in 2016 at just 17 years old, and has since earned 97 caps for his country. He was a foundational player for the 2022 Moroccan World Cup squad that made history as the first African nation to reach the tournament’s semi-final. Since transferring from Inter Milan to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, Hakimi has won 13 club trophies, including consecutive UEFA Champions League titles in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.