Kylian Mbappe scored the winning penalty that sent France into the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday – and then found himself the target of a racist tirade from a Paraguayan senator. Celeste Amarilla, of Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, posted a series of comments on X after her country’s 1-0 defeat in Philadelphia, describing Mbappe as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and a “brute who had not learned to write”. She added that Paraguay’s players should have slapped him after the match.
Mbappe, the France captain, responded in a strongly worded statement on Monday, defending not only himself but also the Paraguay team. “Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position,” he wrote. “You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition. Through your recklessness and your brazen racism, the entire world has already forgotten the journey and the historic effort that your players accomplished during this World Cup, making way for an incompetent woman who gives the worst possible image of her country. I will never allow people like her the freedom to spread their hatred and racism across the world.”
“Mbappe calls Paraguayan senator 'despicable' after racist remarks; French federation to file criminal charges”
The French Football Federation escalated the matter, announcing plans to file criminal charges. In a statement, the FFF described Amarilla’s remarks as “utterly abhorrent and unacceptable” and said: “These remarks are criminal and reprehensible. They must be prosecuted here as elsewhere. The FFF is reporting the matter to the public prosecutor’s office with a view to legal proceedings. These remarks bring shame upon those who make them and those who disseminate them. The players of the French national team represent France; it is our country that is being insulted.”
The Paraguayan government said it “deplores and rejects the statements” made by Amarilla, saying they are “contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity that our country promotes.” France president Emmanuel Macron also weighed in, posting: “Another goal for Kylian Mbappe. Against racism this time. All my support. When words defile, our values respond: dignity, respect, fraternity.”
Amarilla’s comments follow those of former Paraguay goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert, who said in the build-up to the match that his national side were facing “a squad from Africa”. FFF president Philippe Diallo called Chilavert a “disgrace”. Mbappe, with seven goals, is now joint top-scorer in the tournament alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Norway’s Erling Haaland, and faces Morocco in the quarter-finals on Thursday. The row threatens to overshadow what has been a historic World Cup run for Paraguay, whose players – as Mbappe noted – “sweated passion and honour” before being eclipsed by a senator’s racist outburst.