Kylian Mbappé calls out Paraguayan senator for ‘brazen racism’ after France’s World Cup knockout win
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- French star Kylian Mbappé blasted Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla on X, accusing her of ‘brazen racism’ after Paraguay’s 1-0 World Cup knockout loss to France.
- Paraguay’s government and French sports officials swiftly condemned Amarilla’s remarks as abhorrent and unworthy of an elected leader, insisting her statements do not represent Paraguayan people or democratic values.
- Mbappé, tied with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland atop the tournament scoring chart, and France will face Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.
French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé took to social media Monday to respond to racist remarks a Paraguayan senator made following her country’s 1-0 loss to France in a World Cup knockout round game over the weekend.
Mbappé called Celeste Amarilla, a 61-year-old senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, “a despicable woman and unworthy” of her position.
And he was just getting started.
“You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honor throughout the competition,” Mbappé wrote on X. “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.”
U.S. hopes of a historic FIFA World Cup run on home soil are shattered in a heartbreaking 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 at Lumen Field in Seattle.
The 27-year-old French captain scored the only goal of Saturday’s round of 16 game on a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Mbappé is tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Norway’s Erling Haaland with a tournament-high seven goals. He also has 19 overall World Cup goals, one behind Messi for the all-time record.
Amarilla apparently wasn’t impressed, taking to both Instagram and X to make comments about Mbappé ‘s cultural background, appearance, education and more. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Times.
The Paraguayan government said in a statement Monday that it “deplores and rejects” the senator’s remarks.
Belgium protested FIFA’s decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension, but a FIFA appeal committee rejected the appeal.
“These statements are contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity, which our country promotes,” it said, adding that Amarilla’s words “in no way represent the position of the Government of the Republic of Paraguay or of the Paraguayan people.”
The French Football Federation said in a statement that Amarilla’s comments were racist, as well as “utterly despicable and unacceptable” and “criminal and reprehensible.”
“These remarks are abhorrent, unworthy, and all the more unacceptable given that they come from a political figure. In the face of racism, we will not remain silent,” France’s sports minister Marina Ferrari wrote on X. “By targeting Kylian Mbappé, the senator is attacking everything our captain embodies and everything our country stands for: liberty, equality, and fraternity.”
France plays Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals Thursday in Foxborough, Mass.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
