Achraf Hakimi, a Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco defender, has been charged with rape, French prosecutors confirmed to AFP on Friday.Â
Prosecutors questioned Hakimi, 24, on Thursday about allegations made by a 24-year-old woman, and he was later charged.
The Madrid-born player, who helped Morocco reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar last year, exercised with his PSG colleagues on Friday morning.
When contacted by AFP, the club declined to comment on the charge.
As his wife and children were on vacation, Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home in the Paris district of Boulogne-Billancourt last Saturday.
According to sources close to the case, the woman went to a police station on Sunday and was questioned by prosecutors on Wednesday.
Hakimi attended the FIFA Best awards ceremony in Paris on Monday, when he was named to the FIFPro men’s world squad of the year.
The player’s lawyer Fanny Colin could not immediately be contacted but on Tuesday she had declared the claims against Hakimi were “fake”.
Rachel Flore Pardo, the lawyer for the alleged victim, told AFP: “My client maintains everything that she said. She made the choice to speak exclusively to prosecutors and does not want the affair to become a media issue, mainly to protect her safety.”
Under French law, being charged does not necessarily mean the case will go to trial.
Reigning French champions PSG are top of Ligue 1 and face Nantes on Saturday before travelling to Germany where they play Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
The French side trail 1-0 from the first leg.
It was not immediately clear if Hakimi would play any part in either match, but he is permitted to leave French soil despite the charge against him.
