Achraf Hakimi, a defender for Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco, was accused of rape on Friday, according to French authorities.
Prosecutors questioned Hakimi, 24, about allegations made by a 24-year-old woman on Thursday, and he was then charged.
The midfielder, who was born in Madrid and played a significant role in Morocco's historic journey to the World Cup semifinals in Qatar last year, practiced with his PSG teammates on Friday morning.
A PSG spokeswoman stated that the team "places its trust in the justice system" and "gives its support" to Hakimi.
As his wife and kids were away on vacation, Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his house in the Paris district of Boulogne-Billancourt last Saturday.
According to people familiar with the case, the woman visited a police station on Sunday and was questioned by prosecutors on Wednesday.
Hakimi attended the FIFA Best awards presentation on Monday in Paris, where he was recognized as a member of the FIFPro Men's World Team of the Year.
Hakimi 'firmly denies all the allegations against him,' according to the player's attorney Fanny Colin, and claims that he was the victim of 'an attempted racket.
She claimed that because "he finally has the opportunity to defend himself," Hakimi welcomed the accusation made against him.
The accused victim's attorney, Rachel Flore Pardo, told AFP: "All of my client's claims are still true. She made the decision to speak only to prosecutors and does not want the situation to be covered by the media, primarily to ensure her protection."
According to French law, a charge does not always result in a trial.
"Resuming action"
PSG, the defending Ligue 1 champions, are in first place and will play Nantes on Saturday before traveling to Germany on Wednesday to play Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.
1-0 is the first-leg deficit for the French team.
The right-back, who has been receiving treatment for a thigh injury, will return to play "next week," according to a statement made by PSG on Friday, indicating that he would be included in the squad for the Bayern match.
He is not barred from leaving France by the legal actions being taken against Hakimi.
Before joining the Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund in 2018, Hakimi went through Real Madrid's youth program. He later appeared in 73 games for the German team.
He first relocated to Inter Milan in 2020 before making his way to PSG in 2021, where he has since been an essential member of the squad and formed a close bond with young attacker Kylian Mbappe.
He was a pillar of the Moroccan team in Qatar, which helped them become the first Arab country to get to the World Cup's last four.
Content created and supplied by: STARZ-MEDIA (via Opera News )
COMMENTS