{"id":27577,"date":"2026-06-30T01:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T01:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/27577\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T01:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T01:16:11","slug":"why-is-morocco-captain-achraf-hakimi-being-booed-against-netherlands-at-the-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/27577\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi being booed against Netherlands at the World Cup?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/morocco\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Morocco<\/a> captain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/achraf-hakimi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Achraf Hakimi<\/a> was booed during the World Cup group phase after it was announced he will stand trial in a rape case.<\/p>\n<p>Hours before Morocco\u2019s game against Scotland on 19 June, a French appeals court confirmed that Hakimi will stand trial in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/rape\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rape<\/a> case.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/football\/vinicius-jr-hakimi-world-cup-fifa-spanish-translation-b2995615.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The PSG defender<\/a>, who was part of the French side\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/champions-league\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Champions League<\/a> glory in May, had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/football\/achraf-hakimi-psg-rape-morocco-b2926502.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">appealed a February decision<\/a> by an investigative judge. That ruling followed recommendations from public prosecutors that Hakimi should face trial.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2283926252...jpeg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Achraf Hakimi before the match against the Netherlands\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Achraf Hakimi before the match against the Netherlands (Getty)<\/p>\n<p>He denies any wrongdoing. <\/p>\n<p>The Versailles appeals court\u2019s decision was released just hours before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/morocco\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Morocco<\/a> beat Scotland 1-0 in their Group C match, after the African side drew 1-1 with Brazil in their opening game.<\/p>\n<p>Hakimi was loudly jeered every time he touched the ball in Morocco\u2019s second game of Group C. <\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, said that after more than three years of legal proceedings, \u201cand after being defamed and dragged through the mud by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/achraf-hakimi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Achraf Hakimi<\/a>\u2019s defence\u201d the court&#8217;s decision \u201cbrings my client a sense of relief and hope&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRelief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have her case heard at trial,\u201d Pardo said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;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\u2019s football.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-19T094019Z_2133184188_RC2CTLAMF22R_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-FRANCE-HAKIMI-TRIAL.JPG\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Hakimi played for Morocco against Brazil\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Hakimi played for Morocco against Brazil (Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201can easy target\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cJustice looked me in the eye and told me: \u2018If you were not famous, there would never have been a case,\u2019&#8221; Hakimi wrote. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the case has been detrimental not only to him, but also to his family, \u201cand above all, to the truth\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been waiting for this trial since the first day. And I am now waiting for it impatiently,\u201d he added. \u201cFinally, I will be able to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A date for the trial has yet to be announced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe multitude of exculpatory elements uncovered during the investigation and judicial inquiry would, in any other case, have led to the dismissal of the proceedings,\u201d Hakimi\u2019s lawyer, Fanny Colin, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAchraf Hakimi\u2019s defence 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additional reporting by AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[18569,4991,13277,18727,18729,5618,365,5634,18726,11501,14784,13281,174,18358,7866,18728,18730,2855,6,363,10092,18725,4040,364,248,13278,17318],"class_list":["post-27577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-netherlands","tag-achraf-hakimi","tag-arrival","tag-color-image","tag-competition-round","tag-estadio-bbva-bancomer","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-guadalupe-nuevo-leon","tag-horizontal","tag-international-team-soccer","tag-match-sport","tag-mexico","tag-monterrey","tag-morocco","tag-morocco-national-soccer-team","tag-morocco-national-team","tag-national-team","tag-netherlands","tag-netherlands-national-soccer-team","tag-netherlands-national-team","tag-nuevo-leon","tag-photography","tag-soccer","tag-sport","tag-stadium","tag-world-sports-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}