Morocco star Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case, French appeals court confirms

A French appeals court confirmed Friday that Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco star player Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case, lawyers told The Associated Press.

The defender, who is currently playing with Morocco at the World Cup after winning the Champions League for a second straight year with PSG, had appealed a February decision by an investigative judge. That ruling followed recommendations from public prosecutors that Hakimi should face trial.

The Versailles appeals court’s decision was released just hours before Morocco takes on Scotland in their Group C match. Morocco drew 1-1 with Brazil in its opening game.

Hakimi, one of the best right backs in the world, denies any wrongdoing. He faced preliminary charges of rape in March 2023 after a 24-year-old woman said she was raped by Hakimi at his home in a Paris suburb.

Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, said that after more than three years of legal proceedings, “and after being defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defense,” the court's decision “brings my client a sense of relief and hope."

“Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have her case heard at trial,” Pardo said in a statement to the AP. "Hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the fortress of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including within the world of men’s football.”

Hakimi claimed in a message posted on X on Friday that his case would have been dismissed if he had not been famous, and that he sometimes feels he has become “an easy target.”

“Justice looked me in the eye and told me: ‘If you were not famous, there would never have been a case,’" Hakimi wrote. “I chose to remain silent for years. I believed that staying dignified, being patient, and trusting the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made.”

He added that the case has been detrimental not only to him, but also to his family, “and above all, to the truth.”

“I have been waiting for this trial since the first day. And I am now waiting for it impatiently,” he added. “Finally, I will be able to speak.”

A date for the trial has yet to be announced.

“The multitude of exculpatory elements uncovered during the investigation and judicial inquiry would, in any other case, have led to the dismissal of the proceedings," Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, told the AP.

“Achraf Hakimi’s defense regrets that no consequences were drawn from the contradictions and false statements made by the complainant, her concealment of information from the judicial authorities, her obstruction of the search for the truth, and the psychological assessments noting both her ambivalence and her lack of clarity regarding the events she reported.”

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Brazil's Douglas Santos, left, challenges Morocco's Achraf Hakimi during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Morocco's Neil El Aynaoui and Achraf Hakimi exercise during a training session ahead of the World Cup Group C soccer match between Scotland and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Brazil's Vinicius Junior (7) challenges for the ball with Morocco's Achraf Hakimi (2) during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Brazil and Morocco in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwanmura)

Morocco's Achraf Hakimi exercises during a training session ahead of the World Cup Group C soccer match between Scotland and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

ROME (AP) — The Italian government closed ranks on Friday to slam U.S. President Donald Trump over his claim that Premier Giorgia Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit, a pushback that suggested the longtime U.S. ally had had enough of Trump’s boasting.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani abruptly cancelled a planned trip to the United States this weekend, calling Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy.

Meloni for her part posted a video calling Trump’s claims “completely fabricated" and expressing astonishment that he would invent such things about an ally. She concluded: “Italy and I do not beg.”

Trump had made the comments in an interview broadcast Friday morning on the La7 network. The La7 correspondent had asked Trump about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and the conversation turned to their meeting during the just-concluded G7 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France. Meloni and Trump were filmed speaking at several moments, including alone on a small sofa.

According to La7, Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo-op. Trump said he wasn’t obliged to do it but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster has a dubbed version of the conversation online, not the original English audio.

In her video, Meloni said she was responding to Trump’s claims because “certain things deserve an immediate response."

“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.”

It was an apparent reference to an interview Trump gave to Italian daily Corriere della Sera in April in which he criticized Meloni's refusal to back the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. Meloni didn't respond publicly at the time.

By Friday, it appeared she had had enough of his boasts and broadsides.

“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States — toward leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating," Meloni said Friday. "But there’s one thing he must remember: Italy and I do not beg.”

The White House did not return an immediate request for comment on Meloni’s remarks.

Meloni had initially sought to build on longstanding strong U.S.-Italian ties when Trump began his second mandate, and had positioned herself as a “bridge” between Washington and the European Union. She was the lone EU head of state to attend his inauguration.

But relations have frayed over the U.S. war in Iran, which Meloni has said was illegal, and Trump’s position on Ukraine, which Italy strongly supports. Trump's tariffs and strong U.S. support of Israel over its war in Gaza have been other points of contention.

By Friday afternoon, solidarity with Meloni had poured in from across the government and political spectrum, and included a call from President Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s widely respected head of state.

“Whoever attacks @GiorgiaMeloni attacks all of us,” posted Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio referenced the sacrifice of American troops in World War II in underlining the harm to U.S.-Italy relations caused by Trump.

“The thousands of crosses marking the graves of American soldiers who died to free us from Nazi-Fascist dictatorship did not deserve such a painful blow to our fraternal ties,” Nordio said on X.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he didn't believe Meloni would ever beg someone for a photo, “not even under threat.”

“I can, however, imagine how much it cost her to set aside what Trump had said weeks ago, to serve the interests of Italy, of Europe, and of the West,” Crosetto posted on X. “Jokes of this kind do no good to anyone: neither to the USA, nor to Italy, nor to the alliance.”

Tajani had been due to travel to the U.S. on Sunday to take part in an Italy-U.S. business forum in Miami during which he was to have meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a U.S. State Department announcement of the meeting.

From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Donald Trump, Kenya's President William Ruto, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gather for a group photo at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday June 16, 2026. (Isabel Infantes/Pool Photo via AP)

From right, U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after a group photo of G7 leaders and invited nations during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, second left, after a group photo of G7 leaders and invited nations during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks on ahead of a working session at the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)