France’s Kylian Mbappé has hit back at a Paraguayan senator, describing her as a “despicable woman” after she launched a racist attack on him. Mbappé’s penalty proved the difference in an ill-tempered match as France beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday to advance to the quarter-finals.
- Celeste Amarilla posted a racist tirade on X, calling Kylian Mbappé a "colonised Cameroonian" and "brute".
- Kylian Mbappé condemned her as a "despicable woman", saying she is unworthy of her position and spreads racism.
- He defended the Paraguayan players, praising their historic effort while rejecting Celeste Amarilla's brazen racist remarks.
- French Football Federation announced plans to file criminal charges, calling the remarks utterly abhorrent and unacceptable.
- FFF reported the matter to the public prosecutor's office, seeking legal proceedings and condemning insults to the nation and team.
Celeste Amarilla wrote a long tirade on X, describing Mbappé as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and as a “brute who had not learned to write”. Paraguay’s players should have slapped him after the match, she added.
Mbappé, the France captain, responded with a strongly worded statement defending not only himself, but also the Paraguay 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. I will never allow people like her the freedom to spread their hatred and racism across the world.“
The French Football Federation (FFF) escalated the matter, announcing plans to file criminal charges, describing her remarks as “utterly abhorrent and unacceptable”. They said: “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.
“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.”
