Paris, 24 September, 2026 (Kamran Raja): A French court has upheld a decision to send Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco footballer Achraf Hakimi to trial on a rape charge, according to a judicial source. The 27-year-old footballer had appealed a decision requiring him to stand trial over allegations involving a woman in 2023, which he has repeatedly denied. The Court of Cassation, France’s highest court for civil and criminal matters, rejected the appeal, leaving Hakimi with no further legal avenue to challenge the decision. In February, Hakimi was ordered to stand trial before the criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department on the rape charge. He subsequently challenged the order, but the Versailles appeals court upheld the decision in June before the case reached the Court of Cassation. Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The woman’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said her client remained determined to seek justice after several years of legal proceedings. The allegations date back to February 2023, when a then-24-year-old woman told police in the Val-de-Marne region southeast of Paris that Hakimi had raped her. According to information provided by police at the time, the woman said she had met Hakimi on Instagram in January 2023 and later went to his home in a taxi arranged by the footballer. She alleged that Hakimi kissed and touched her without consent before raping her, and said she managed to push him away and contact a friend who came to collect her. Hakimi was formally charged with rape several days later. The allegations remain contested, and the upcoming trial will determine the criminal case.