France captain Kylian Mbappe publicly condemned a Paraguayan senator on Monday, calling her a “despicable woman” after she unleashed a racist attack against him on social media following Paraguay’s exit from the World Cup.
Mbappe’s penalty kick was the deciding goal as France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday, sending France into the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Senator Celeste Amarilla responded to the loss with a lengthy, slur-filled post on X, referring to Mbappe as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and calling him a “brute” who had not learned to write. She also suggested Paraguay’s players should have struck him after the game.
Mbappe responded directly and forcefully, standing up for himself while also defending the honor of the Paraguayan players.
“Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition,” he wrote.
“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.”
He added: “I will never allow people like her the freedom to spread their hatred and racism across the world.”
The French Football Federation escalated the situation further, announcing it intends to pursue criminal charges against the senator. The organization described her comments as “utterly abhorrent and unacceptable.”
“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,” the federation stated.
“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,” it added.
