Achraf Hakimi's lawyer claims rape accusations "are false"

French newspaper Le Parisien broke the news of Achraf Hakimi's being under investigation for raping a woman last Monday. On Tuesday, his lawyer made a public statement claiming such accusations "are false," while PSG give full "support" of the player.

The Morocco international and PSG defender, Achraf Hakimi, heard about this accusation for the first time around two hours before attending the FIFA The Best gala held in Paris last Monday. He attended the ceremony and was named into the season's Best XI.

Hakimi was visibly upset, or at least not what you could call "happy" throughout the evening even though teammate Lionel Messi was awarded the FIFA The Best Award for his World Cup-winning campaign in 2022.

As we did with the original report, and given the absolute importance of this ongoing case and investigation, we're posting a full, literal translation (via Google Translate, barring minor changes for clarity) of the original note published by Le Parisien on Tuesday through the next few paragraphs.

The opening of an investigation targeting Achraf Hakimi, accused of rape, is a new shock hitting PSG. As we revealed on Monday, Feb. 27, a 24-year-old woman came to the police station in Nogent-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne) and said she had been raped by the Moroccan defender of the Parisian club at the player's home.

While the Nanterre prosecutor's office has taken up this case, the young woman has not lodged a complaint, the meetings were linked on Tuesday on this subject in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine) at the headquarters of PSG. While those around the footballer are assured of being serene and calm in the face of the accusations made by the alleged victim, the club is in support of its player.

Monday evening, at 8:36 p.m., Hakimi appeared on the FIFA The Best gala on the “green carpet” leading to the Salle Pleyel. PSG president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and his partners, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi had not yet arrived at the theater which, thirty minutes later, would host the first big gala evening of the year for the coronation of the Argentine. Accompanied by his brother Nabil, Achraf Hakimi takes a break from the photographers, like all the nominees and other guests present in Paris that evening.

An hour and a half earlier, the player learned from an alert from Le Parisien that he was under investigation for rape. No one in his professional entourage, however, wanted to skip the evening meeting. Awarded the title of best right-back in the Best XI of the year, the Moroccan did not show anything when he took the stage alongside the French Kylian Mbapp, the Argentinian Leo Messi, the Dutch Virgil Van Dijk and the Brazilian Casemiro, also members of the FIFA team. He did not say a word either when leaving the premises, since he chose, like many others, not to pass in front of the microphones and cameras that lined the path to the exit.

At PSG, it was first a sense of astonishment that won the offices of the headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt on Monday, at around 7 p.m. At that moment, the information was posted on Le Parisien website. The revelation of the opening of a judicial investigation affecting a player of the stature of the Moroccan, defender at PSG, a friend of Kylian Mbappe and semi-finalist of the last World Cup in Qatar is not taken in vain.

After the surprise and the shock, PSG got to work in order to collect as much information on the subject as possible and to contact the entourage of the Moroccan international. Throughout the day on Tuesday, meetings followed one another between Paris Saint-Germain and Achraf Hakimi's advisers to discuss the case. Over the past few hours, the club's legal department and lawyers have studied the file and worked on it in order to support the player, who is the subject of serious charges.

“The club is in support of the player who has firmly denied the accusations and trusts justice, we know from the side of the club," signed Christophe Galtier. "PSG is an institution that promotes respect on and off the pitch." On the side of PSG sponsors using the image of Achraf Hakimi, several refused to comment on an investigation that had just been opened.

Throughout the day on Tuesday, the entourage of the Moroccan ensured to be calm and serene as to the continuation of this affair. Shortly after 8 p.m., his lawyer, Fanny Colin, gave us a first reaction.

“The accusations are false, assured Fanny Colin. Hakimi is serene and is at the disposal of justice."