PSG’s Hakimi set to face trial for rape

Hakimi

Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, who is facing trial for alleged rape, was included in his team’s matchday squad ahead of their Champions League play-off phase second leg tie against Monaco on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, it was announced by Hakimi’s lawyer and a French prosecutor that the PSG and Morocco right-back is to stand trial charged with raping a woman. The 27-year-old denies any wrongdoing.

In February 2023, a woman then aged 24 told police in the Val-de-Marne region southeast of Paris that Hakimi had raped her. “Today, a rape accusation is enough to justify a trial, even though I contest it and everything proves that it is false,” Hakimi wrote on social media on Tuesday.

“I await this trial calmly, which will allow the truth to come out publicly.”

Hakimi’s lawyer Fanny Colin questioned the woman’s co-operation in the investigation.

“A trial has been ordered on the basis of an accusation that rests solely on the word of a woman who obstructed all investigations, refused all medical examinations and DNA tests, refused to allow her mobile phone to be examined, and refused to give the name of a key witness,” Colin said.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said her client was relieved to hear the case was going to court.

She said the judiciary had been exemplary in handling the case.

Hakimi attended PSG’s pre-match training session on Tuesday, and normally would be an automatic selection at right-back for the reigning European champions when they host Monaco at the Parc des Princes with a 3-2 aggregate lead after the first leg.

Hakimi netted the equaliser at Monaco’s Stade Louis II last week as PSG came back from two goals down to win. PSG coach Luis Enrique, when asked about Hakimi’s trial at a Tuesday press conference ahead of the return fixture, said: “This matter is in the hands of the authorities.” Vanguard