Kylian Mbappé of France has sharply condemned a Paraguayan senator, calling her a “despicable woman” after she levelled a racist insult at him. Mbappé’s successful penalty decided a tense, ill‑tempered encounter as France edged Paraguay 1‑0 in Philadelphia on Saturday, sending them through to the last eight.
Celeste Amarilla posted an extended rant on X, branding Mbappé a “colonised Cameroonian struggling to pass himself off as French” and a “brute who never learned to write”. She went on to suggest Paraguay’s players ought to have slapped him after the final whistle.
Mbappé, the French captain, fired back with a forceful message that defended not only himself but Paraguay’s team as well. “Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unfit for the role you hold. You do not represent Paraguay, a nation that has poured passion and honour into this tournament,” he wrote.
“Through your recklessness and blatant racism, the whole world has already dismissed the journey and the historic effort your players delivered at this World Cup, replacing it with the image of an inept person who projects the worst possible impression of her country. I will never give people like her free rein to scatter their hate and racism across the globe.“
The French Football Federation (FFF) intensified the row, saying it would file criminal charges and branding her outburst “utterly appalling and unacceptable”. It added: “These remarks are criminal and deserve condemnation. They must be pursued here as they would be anywhere. The FFF is referring the matter to the public prosecutor’s office with the aim of launching legal proceedings.
“Those remarks disgrace anyone who utters them and anyone who spreads them. The players of the French national team stand for France; it is our country being insulted.”
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