Achraf Hakimi will stand trial on a rape charge after France’s highest court rejected his final appeal, ruling that no serious grounds existed to admit it.

The 27-year-old had exhausted every route left to him under French criminal procedure. The Court of Cassation’s decision on Wednesday sends the case to the departmental criminal court in Hauts-de-Seine, the district southwest of Paris where the alleged offence took place.

Hakimi’s lawyer said the substance of the case had not yet been tested.

“The allegations against Achraf Hakimi, which he has firmly contested from day one, have not been examined by the Court of Cassation,” Fanny Colin said in a statement.

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“They will be during the trial, at which all the evidence in Achraf Hakimi’s defence will be presented publicly.”

Alleged 2023 attack in Boulogne-Billancourt

The complainant, then 24, told police in February 2023 that Hakimi had raped her at his home in Boulogne-Billancourt, a Paris suburb, on a night when his wife and children were away. She said she had met him on Instagram in January that year and travelled to the house in a taxi paid for by the player, before texting a friend to come and collect her.

Hakimi was charged in March 2023 and has denied the allegation from the outset.

Appeal exhausted at France’s highest court

A criminal court in Hauts-de-Seine ordered Hakimi to stand trial in February 2026. The Versailles appeals court upheld that order on 19 June 2026. Wednesday’s ruling by the Court of Cassation was his last avenue.

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Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer for the woman, welcomed the outcome.

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

Hakimi, who signed a contract extension in February 2025 tying him to Paris Saint-Germain until June 2029, remains a first-choice starter for the club and a fixture for Morocco. He was named the 2025 CAF Player of the Year and is among the nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or. Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal recently lodged a reported €120m bid for the defender.

A trial date at the Hauts-de-Seine departmental criminal court has not been set.

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