France and Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé has publicly condemned Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla, calling her remarks "despicable" and "unworthy of her position." The condemnation came after Amarilla, a member of Paraguay's Liberal Radical Party, posted racist comments on social media platform X, mocking Mbappé's origin and education following Paraguay's defeat by France in the World Cup.
In his response, Mbappé stated, "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. 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."
Mbappé scored the decisive penalty in the second half of the match, advancing France to a quarter-final match. He is currently the joint top-scorer in the tournament with seven goals, a tally matched by Lionel Messi of Argentina and Erling Haaland of Norway.
This incident follows similar remarks made by former Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert, who had commented before the match that his national team was facing "a squad from Africa." The French Football Federation president, Philippe Diallo, denounced Chilavert's comments as a "disgrace" and stated they undermined the values of respect, fraternity, and diversity in football.