A Paraguayan Senator Was Openly Racist Towards France’s Kylian Mbappé After Paraguay Lost But He Responded With Class
“You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honor throughout the competition.” Mbappé wrote.
France’s national football team captain Kylian Mbappé has called out a Paraguayan senator for racist remarks she made against him after France beat Paraguay at the World Cup.
On July 4, France beat Paraguay 1-0 at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia, in an intense match where Paraguay played an aggressive, defensive style that kept France at bay until a late penalty broke the deadlock.
Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla then went on to attack Mbappé, describing him as a “colonized Cameroonian, pretending hard to be French, resentful, newly rich, arrogant and ugly.”
In a follow-up post, she called out Mbappé for not shaking hands with Paraguay’s goalkeeper Orlando Gill after the game, saying, “The brute did not learn to write, instead of breast milk he sucked coconuts and the most educated he heard were chimpanzees. You should have shown him the middle finger Orlando Gill, I do it in the senate and nothing happens!!!”
On July 6, Mbappé responded on X, saying Amarilla’s racism had overshadowed Paraguay’s tournament run.
“You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honor throughout the competition,” Mbappé 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.”
Amarilla then published an open letter in French acknowledging her remarks and saying she had deleted the posts, which still appeared to be live on X as of July 7.
At a press conference on Tuesday, July 7, Amarillo refused to apologize to Mbappé, saying.
“Mbappé didn't apologize to me, and I don't have to apologize to him either,” and excused her behavior to anger, demanding an apology from Mbappé.
She also said his description of her as a “despicable woman” and “unworthy” of her position amounted to gender-based violence and warned she could sue him.
Paraguay’s government condemned Amarilla’s comments, saying they did not reflect the position of the government.
The French government, the UN and FIFA all offered support to Mbappé, and French prosecutors opened an investigation into Amarillo’s remarks.
Under French law, authorities can investigate statements, including hate speech, made abroad when the victim is French, with punishments ranging from one year imprisonment to €45,000 fine (about $51,000).
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