Moroccan journalist Mustapha Badri has said he faced attempts to influence his vote in the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with unidentified individuals urging him to support another player instead of Achraf Hakimi.
Badri, who represented Morocco on the international voting panel, made the claim in an interview with AfricaFoot published on Saturday, October 31.
The director general of Moroccan sports publication Al Mountakhab said the approaches came shortly before voting closed. He maintained his original choice and placed Hakimi first on his ballot.
The people allegedly involved have not been identified, and Badri has not provided independent evidence of the approaches.
Badri says he refused attempts to influence his vote
Speaking to AfricaFoot, Badri said several people contacted him during the final hours before voting.
According to the journalist, they wanted him to place another candidate ahead of the Paris Saint-Germain right-back.
Badri did not disclose the identity of the individuals or the player they were supporting.
He said he refused the requests and submitted his preferred ranking.
The journalist described the approaches as an example of lobbying that can occur around major individual football awards.
His account has since been reported by several European and Moroccan publications, including Le Parisien and Mundo Deportivo.
Those reports refer to Badri’s original interview rather than providing separate evidence of the alleged approaches.
Hakimi ranked first on Morocco’s ballot
Badri placed Achraf Hakimi first on his ballot, ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé completed his top five, while eventual winner Harry Kane was sixth.
Badri defended his decision by pointing to Hakimi’s performances for Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco.
He also acknowledged that his Moroccan identity played a part in his assessment, while maintaining that his decision was supported by footballing considerations.
Hakimi finished 13th in the final 2026 Ballon d’Or ranking, seven positions below his sixth-place finish in 2025.
Kane won the award ahead of Mbappé and Yamal at the October 26 ceremony in London.
No evidence that the final result was affected
Badri’s comments raise questions about attempts to influence individual voters, but they do not establish that the overall Ballon d’Or result was improperly altered.
The journalist said he did not change his vote.
He also stated that he respected the legitimacy of Kane’s victory, even though he personally considered other candidates more deserving.
No identities or supporting records were disclosed in the interview that would allow the alleged approaches to be independently verified.
The confirmed facts remain that Badri voted for Hakimi as his first choice and that the Moroccan defender finished 13th in the overall ranking.
The allegation concerns how one juror says he was approached before voting, rather than evidence of a change to the published result.
Get the Atlas Lions Weekly
The biggest Morocco football stories, player updates and analysis—delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
