captain was booed in the course of the World Cup group section after it was introduced he’ll stand trial in a rape case.
Hours earlier than Morocco’s recreation towards Scotland on 19 June, a French appeals courtroom confirmed that Hakimi will stand trial in a case.
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, who was a part of the French aspect’s glory in Could, had by an investigative choose. That ruling adopted suggestions from public prosecutors that Hakimi ought to face trial.
Achraf Hakimi earlier than the match towards the Netherlands (Getty)
He denies any wrongdoing.
The Versailles appeals courtroom’s choice was launched simply hours earlier than beat Scotland 1-0 of their Group C match, after the African aspect drew 1-1 with Brazil of their opening recreation.
Hakimi was loudly jeered each time he touched the ball in Morocco’s second recreation of Group C.
He confronted preliminary costs of rape in March 2023 after a 24-year-old lady mentioned she was raped by Hakimi at his dwelling in a Paris suburb.
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Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, mentioned that after greater than three years of authorized proceedings, “and after being defamed and dragged by way of the mud by ’s defence” the courtroom’s choice “brings my shopper a way of aid and hope”.
“Reduction that she has been heard by the justice system and could have her case heard at trial,” Pardo mentioned in a press release.
“Hope that this trial will assist different ladies and additional weaken the fortress of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, together with inside the world of males’s soccer.”
Hakimi performed for Morocco towards Brazil (Reuters)
Hakimi claimed in a message posted on X on Friday that his case would have been dismissed if he had not been well-known, and that he typically feels he has turn into “a straightforward goal”.
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“Justice regarded me within the eye and informed me: ‘If you weren’t well-known, there would by no means have been a case,’” Hakimi wrote.
“I selected to stay silent for years. I believed that staying dignified, being affected person, and trusting the justice system would permit the suitable choices to be made.”
He added that the case has been detrimental not solely to him, but in addition to his household, “and above all, to the reality”.
“I’ve been ready for this trial because the first day. And I’m now ready for it impatiently,” he added. “Lastly, I can communicate.”
A date for the trial has but to be introduced.
“The multitude of exculpatory components uncovered in the course of the investigation and judicial inquiry would, in some other case, have led to the dismissal of the proceedings,” Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, mentioned.
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“Achraf Hakimi’s defence regrets that no penalties had been drawn from the contradictions and false statements made by the complainant, her concealment of knowledge from the judicial authorities, her obstruction of the seek for the reality, and the psychological assessments noting each her ambivalence and her lack of readability concerning the occasions she reported.”
Further reporting by AP