Kylian Mbappe has condemned Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla as a “despicable woman” for racial remarks she made about him during France’s World Cup victory against Paraguay.
In a post on his X account on Monday, Mbappe accused Amarilla of racism and claimed her actions had overshadowed Paraguay’s World Cup campaign.
“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,” Mbappe wrote.
France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in the World Cup round of 16 in Philadelphia on Saturday, with Mbappe scoring the only goal from a penalty spot.
Both teams engaged in heated exchanges throughout the encounter.
Following the final whistle, an incident erupted between Mbappe and Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill, with Gill tossing the ball toward the France attacker.
“I tried to shake his hand, but since he didn’t pay me any attention, I lost my temper,” Gill said after the match.
Amarilla reacted to the incident with a series of racial posts targeting Mbappe on her X account.
“The brute didn’t even learn to write; instead of mother’s milk, he sucked on coconuts, and the most educated thing he heard was chimpanzees,” she wrote of Mbappe, adding that Gill should have shown the France star “the finger”.
In a follow-up statement, Amarilla branded Mbappe as a “colonised Cameroonian, pretending hard to be French, resentful, newly rich, arrogant, and ugly” and claimed he was “nervous and scared to death” throughout the match.
France advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Paraguay in a heated Round of 16 match at Philadelphia Stadium on Saturday, July 4.
Mbappe’s 70th-minute penalty, granted after a VAR review determined that Paraguay’s Diego Gomez had tripped Desire Doue in the box, proved to be the game’s only goal.
It was Mbappe’s 19th World Cup goal in as many games, one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi on the all-time list, and his seventh of the tournament, keeping him tied with Messi for the Golden Boot.
