PARIS.- The support of PSG to Achraf Hakimiwhich will be tried for rape, is a “logical” strategy of a club forced to respect the presumption of innocence, according to sports marketing experts, but it also shows the “protection mechanisms” existing in a football almost impervious to the #MeToo movement.
Since the beginning of the case and the indictment in March 2023 of the Moroccan defender for the rape of a 24-year-old woman, the team expressed in a statement that it was “at the side of the player, who has firmly denied the accusations and trusts in justice.”
Last Tuesday, after it was announced that Hakimi, 27, would be tried, PSG did not make any official comment, but in private they are trying to protect their second captain, invoking the presumption of innocence.
“He is in the hands of justice,” his coach, the Spaniard, stated briefly. Luis Enrique.
A “logical” strategy until the sentence, according to two sports marketing specialists consulted by AFP.
Presumption of innocence
“It is a matter of trust between the employer and his employee and it is difficult for a club to sanction a player preventively,” he explained. Vincent Chaudelfounder of Observatoire du Sport Business.
But “PSG could have reaffirmed its principles more clearly and remembered that, if a player is convicted of acts of violence, he has nothing to do within the institution, which is above the players,” he added. Bruno Bianzinaagency director Sports Market.
PSG could also “remember that, in the event of a conviction, the club will take action quickly,” Bianzina insisted.
The day after the confirmation of Hakimi’s prosecution, Luis Enrique lined up the right back in the match of the European Champions League against him Monaco and the following Saturday he entrusted him with the captain’s armband against Le Havre in the Ligue 1 due to the absence of the Brazilian Marquinhos.
Hakimi, captain of the national team Moroccoalso received the support of Collectif Ultra Paristhe main fan group, with the banner “Achraf, full support” and chants in his honor.
“Thank you for the support,” the player reacted on Instagram.
According to a source close to the case, the support of the ultras is a “quite normal act because he is a PSG star, but it clashes with the social debate; it is the same situation as with the insulting and hateful chants, which for the ultras are simple provocations.”
The club is caught between these two worlds, added the same source.
“Insult to the victims”
“This banner is an insult to rape victims. The victim is denied, the accused is applauded. The fight against sexual violence has not yet made its way into the world of men’s football,” criticized the victim’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo.
For Alice Coffina feminist activist, these displays of solidarity “can be elements that trigger mobilization because they show impunity.”
“It is also the symbol of corporate defense and protection mechanisms,” he added, comparing it to the reaction of the film world when the director Roman Polanskiaccused of rape and sexual assault by several women, received a Caesar in 2020.
As far as sponsors are concerned, all those consulted agree that nothing will change.
Given Hakimi’s image power for the club, it is logical to “give him prominence in already planned advertising campaigns,” he details. Vincent Chaudelalthough “perhaps some changes will have to be imagined to avoid bad publicity.”
On Sunday, the Moroccan international participated in a photo session at the PSG Campus as part of an advertising campaign, according to another source close to the case.
For Bruno Bianzinathe sponsors are in PSG “because of the club’s attractiveness and media strength (valued at around 4.2 billion euros) more than because of its respect for social commitments.”
The question will be to know “if the sponsors of the women’s team, who in some cases are different, will express their discontent with the club’s position.”
Contacted by AFP, the equipment brand Under Armor – of which Hakimi is one of its ambassadors – did not respond to the requests, as did the Moroccan Football Federation nor PSG.
