Football superstar Kylian Mbappé has accused Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla of "brazen racism" and labeled her "despicable" in response to an extraordinary social media attack. The controversy arose after Amarilla targeted the France captain following her country's World Cup elimination.
During a World Cup match, Mbappé scored a decisive second-half penalty that secured a 1-0 victory for France against Paraguay. Reports described the match as marred by "shameful and dirty tactics" employed by the Paraguayan team, including repeated fouls, feigned injuries, and aggressive conduct aimed at provoking their opponents.
Following the match, Senator Amarilla reportedly posted that Mbappé "hasn't even learned to write" and hurled racist insults at the player. In a separate post, she characterized Mbappé as "pretending hard to be French, resentful, newly rich, arrogant, and ugly," adding that he "was nervous and scared to death the whole match, like his entire team; they couldn't even score a goal, they won by a fluke."
Mbappé responded fiercely to Amarilla's comments in a statement, asserting, "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 honor throughout the competition." He further stated, "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."
The French Football Federation president, Philippe Diallo, also expressed his support for Mbappé, calling Amarilla's remarks "criminal and reprehensible." The FFF announced its intention to file a report with the prosecutor's office for potential judicial proceedings. "The racist remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla targeting Kylian Mbappé are criminal and reprehensible," Diallo stated. "They must be prosecuted here as elsewhere. The FFF is filing a report with the prosecutor's office for the purpose of judicial proceedings. I offer my full support to our captain, to the players, and more generally to all the victims of such odious remarks. The players of the French national team represent France; it is our country that is insulted."
The match itself saw several controversial incidents. Paraguay's goalkeeper Orlando Gill expressed frustration after Mbappé reportedly refused to shake his hand while celebrating. "Kylian Mbappé has p***ed me off. I stretched my hand to congratulate him, but he ignored me," Gill said. "This is football, if they're not used to this, what can we do? Paraguay is like that, it's a tough team. From the first moment we set out to make ourselves felt on the field, that if the ball gets through, the man doesn't."
Mbappé, reflecting on the team's performance, indicated their readiness to win through various means. "We knew what kind of game we were going to have. We showed that we were not just a team that knows how to play offensive football," he commented. "They thought we'd come wearing tuxedos, doing great plays, one-twos and whatnot. It's their way of playing."