ACHRAF Hakimi laughs with teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe – on the same day prosecutors began a formal rape probe.
The World Cup star, 24, returned to training with Paris Saint-Germain today after being sidelined through injury.
He was pictured joking with megastars Messi and Mbappe at the club’s training ground in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris.
It came as Hakimi – one of the world’s highest paid players – was formally indicted by judges today.
He was quizzed by magistrates yesterday before being placed under judicial supervision on preliminary charges of rape, said a spokesman for Nanterre prosecutors.
It allows magistrates more time to investigate before deciding whether to send the case to trial.
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The married dad of two “strongly denies” the “false” allegations, his lawyer said.
He has not been suspended by his club and is expected to be fit for tomorrow’s league game against Nantes.
And coach Christophe Galtier said he hoped the star defender would play in a crucial Champions League tie against Bayern Munich next week.
PSG said in a statement it “supports the player who has firmly denied the accusations and trusts the justice system.”
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It added: “Paris Saint-Germain is an institution that promotes respect on and off the pitch.”
Madrid-born Hakimi is accused of raping a woman while his wife Hiba Abouk was on holiday with their kids.
According to Le Parisien, Hakimi had been talking to the alleged victim on Instagram since January 16.
Last Saturday he allegedly paid for an Uber to drive her to his home in a Paris suburb.
She claimed he pulled up her clothes assaulted her before she was able to free herself by kicking him then texted a friend to pick her up.
The woman went to a police station on Sunday, but reportedly said she did not want to press charges.
Prosecutors launched an investigation due to the seriousness of the allegations.
On Monday, Morocco defender Hakimi received loud applause at a Fifa awards ceremony as he was named in a world team of the year.
He became a Moroccan national hero in December after his winning penalty against Spain put Morocco through to the World Cup quarter-final for the first time.
And he was credited for helping his national team reach the semi-final, the first African country to do so.
Before the tournament the A-list star – known as Morocco’s answer to David Beckham – posed with his TV star wife in a stunning photoshoot in Vogue Arabia.
Today it was reported they had been estranged for weeks and she had dumped him for good following the rape allegation.
The pair have not been seen together in public for months.
Now she is “accelerating” proceedings to separate for good, according to Spanish outlet Cierre Digital.
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She has not publicly commented, but an Instagram post shows her walking on a Dubai beach with her two young sons.
She captioned it “Adding moments”, and added the hashtags “family first” and one translating as “I’d die for mine”.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
