Big blow for Morocco! Achraf Hakimi's case to tried in midst of the World Cup

XtraTime Webdesk: Achraf Hakimi is one of the pillars of Morocco’s World Cup campaign. The PSG right-back has been one of the best full backs in the world for quite a few years. He came off a club season that can rightly be considered a “roaring success” as his club won their second successive Champions League title. Morocco,too, were considered big dark horses in the World Cup because of the squad they have but now that team is facing a big blow with Hakimi being at the center of it. 

A French court on Friday confirmed that Hakimi will stand trial for rape. The 27-year-old footballer said he was "eagerly awaiting" his trial. 

In February 2023, a 24-year-old woman reported to police in the Val-de-Marne district southeast of Paris that Hakimi had raped her. The charges have been repeatedly refuted by the PSG player and captain of the Moroccan national team, which will play their second World Cup match against Scotland on Friday. The criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department has not yet confirmed the start date of the trial.

"This confirmation was expected. Nothing here says that he is guilty of anything, he remains steadfast in his defence," Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin said. The plaintiff's lawyer Rachel-Flore Pardo said the decision brought her client "relief and hope". 

According to a police source at the time, the plaintiff claimed to have met Hakimi on Instagram in January 2023 and travelled to his house in a cab that the player had requested.She said the player raped her after kissing her and touching her without her will.After pushing him away, the plaintiff texted a friend, who then arrived to get her.

Speaking to the press for the first time in a Mediapart article published Thursday, the woman, using the pseudonym Jeanne, said she wanted a trial "to defend myself, to be heard".

"I want to explain myself. I want people to believe me," she added.

(Photo Courtesy: EquipeDeMaroc/Instagram)