PSG’s Hakimi to face rape trial as court rejects final appeal

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Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi will stand trial over a rape allegation after France’s highest court rejected his final appeal on Wednesday, clearing the way for proceedings before a criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department.

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According to French sports newspaper L’Équipe, the Cour de cassation rejected Hakimi’s appeal, ruling that there were no serious grounds to admit it. A judicial source told AFP that the court followed the advice of the rapporteur and the conclusions of the advocate general.

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Hakimi’s lawyer before the Cour de cassation, Bertrand Périer, confirmed the decision in a statement.

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“The Cour de cassation has rejected Achraf Hakimi’s appeal, judging that no serious means were of a nature to allow its admission, in accordance with the opinion of the rapporteur and the conclusions of the advocate general,” Périer said.

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The complainant’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said her client remained determined to pursue the case after more than three and a half years.

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“After three and a half years of judicial combat, after having been slandered and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defence, my client is determined to obtain justice, she will fight to the end,” Pardo said.

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“She hopes with all her heart that this trial will help other women, and crack a little more the fortress of denial and impunity for sexual violence, even in the world of men’s football,” she added.

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Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, however, stressed that the merits of the case had not been examined by the Cour de cassation and would be addressed at trial.

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“The facts reproached to Achraf Hakimi, which he has firmly contested from the first day, have not been examined by the Cour de cassation. They will be during the trial, in the course of which all the elements in defence of Mr Achraf Hakimi will be publicly and contradictorily presented,” Colin said.

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She further alleged that the complainant’s side had obstructed efforts to establish the facts, citing the alleged concealment of messages referring to a plan to “strip” Hakimi, refusal to provide the identity of a key witness, refusal of medical examinations and refusal to allow access to the complainant’s telephone.

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“Mr Hakimi, who has nothing to hide, has for his part fully cooperated with the police and judicial authorities and will continue to do so on the occasion of the forthcoming trial,” Colin said.

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The case dates back to February 2023, when a then 24-year-old woman accused Hakimi of raping her at his home in Boulogne-Billancourt, after the pair met on Instagram and she visited him late one evening.

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Hakimi, who is also captain of Morocco, has consistently denied the allegation, maintaining that the encounter was consensual.

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An investigating judge ordered him to stand trial in February 2026, a decision later upheld by the Versailles Court of Appeal in June.

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Hakimi subsequently appealed to the Cour de cassation, the highest court in France for criminal and civil matters.

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PUNCH Online earlier reported the decision to send the PSG defender to trial.n

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