Kylian Mbappé criticizes the racist remarks of a member of the parliament of Paraguay after the World Cup match

Warning: This story contains racist and graphic language.

He is considered one of the best footballers in the world. He is the best goalscorer in the history of French football. On Saturday, he led his team to a 1-0 victory over Paraguay, which put France in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

But that’s not why Kylian Mbappé is making headlines this week. Instead, the soccer star has come under fire for racist remarks made by a Paraguayan senator that the United Nations Human Rights Office called “degrading” and “disrespectful” and led to an investigation by French prosecutors.

Celeste Amarilla, Senator for Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, sent a series of racist comments to X after Mbappé converted the winning penalty The victory of France over Paraguay on Saturday, mocking the French captain’s background, upbringing, education and looks.

The post was removed from X, but one is still visible on his Instagram account. In a post written in Spanish, Amarilla explained Mbappé as a “Cameroonian, trying hard to pretend to be French.”

He called her again”bitter, new, arrogant and bad money,” he said the Paraguayan players should have slapped him after the game.

In other posts mentioned by the media, Amarilla is said to have also called Mbappé a “brutal” who did not know how to write.

“Instead of mother’s milk, he sucked coconuts, and the most educated thing he heard was chimpanzees,” Amarilla reportedly wrote, according to several media sources.

The Paraguayan government issued a statement on Monday afternoon, writing in Spanish that Amarilla’s comments “are against the values ​​and principles that promote peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity that our country promotes.” It added that the senator’s comments do not represent the Paraguayan government or the Paraguayan people.

The French Football Federation on Monday condemned Amarilla’s comments as “totally disgusting” and “unacceptable,” adding that it would refer the matter to prosecutors.

And UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said that although these comments were disgusting, and “sadly, they were not isolated,” they also reflect a broader phenomenon in soccer and sports in general.

On Monday, Mbappé, who is the captain of the French team, responded to Amarilla in X, calling her a “despicable woman” who was “not fit” to serve in the Paraguayan Congress.

“Because of your recklessness and your racism, the whole world has already forgotten the journey and the historic effort your players made during this world cup,” Mbappé wrote in French.

Later that day, Amarilla released an open letter in French and Spanish to Mbappé on social media, in which he said his problem was with the player, not the country of France. He wrote that he regrets treating Mbappé with the “same insults” he received as a mixed race person and that he has deleted his post.

But he also wanted to apologize for the words he said to X, accusing him of gender-based violence and taking threatening legal action.

In a press conference on Tuesday, he added that France has no basis to proceed with the case against him, according to a video posted by the Associated Press.

He then said that Mbappé can’t even find Paraguay on the map and added that he has enough reason to open his case against him. He warned the French Football Federation to hire a lawyer.

Discrimination in terms of the World Cup is not new

As the UN has said, this is not a single incident of racism in sports events in general and the World Cup in particular.

Even earlier this week, as Reuters reports, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia’s description of Senegal as one of the “teams” that “tend to lose their structure at the end of the game” renewed scrutiny of racist language at the World Cup.

Critics say Garcia’s words draw on a deep history of racial stereotypes that have long portrayed Black players and African teams as naturally and naturally strong, but irrational, emotionally fragile or unable to withstand pressure, according to Reuters.

Former Serbian footballer Rade Bogdanovic, who works as a commentator for Serbian public channel RTS, has apologized after making racist remarks about Black players during the June 21 match between Belgium and Iran. His comments questioned the focus and intensity of the Black players after the Group G match ended in a draw, reported Reuters.

FIFA has also launched an investigation into the racism of the famous broadcaster ShowSpeed ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​in the stands during the World Cup match between Argentina and Cape Verde, the Associated Press reported. A fan appeared to tell Speed, who is black, to “go cry at the zoo,” the AP reported.

FIFA issued a statement on the incident, saying “strongly condemns racism, hatred and bigotry in all its forms.”

On Tuesday, FIFA released a second statement about Mbappé, saying “He suffered a lot from racial abuse.”

“Racism is an attack on human dignity and has absolutely no place in football, the FIFA World Cup or society,” the statement said.

In 2024, Canadian player Moise Bombito was the victim of racial abuse online after that clash with Argentina captain Lionel Messi in the Copa America. And in 2018, FIFA has accused Russia of hosting the World Cup for discriminating against fans after mAllowy’s songs were directed at Black French players.

Last year, England defender Jess Carter said he had been the victim of racial abuse online after Euro 2025 kicked off in Switzerland and withdrew from social media until the end of the tournament.

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