A Paraguayan parliamentarian defends Kylian Mbappé’s racism – and insults him again
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Warning: This story contains racist and graphic language
Once again, French soccer star Kylian Mbappé led his team to victory in an important World Cup match.
And again, that’s not the only reason why he’s in the headlines this week because of the comments of a member of the parliament of Paraguay.
Celeste Amarilla, who was convicted of sending a series of racist comments to X after Mbappé converted the winning penalty in France’s victory over Paraguay on Saturday, had the chance to defend his actions in the Senate on Wednesday.
While doing so, he insulted Mbappé again, calling him “son of a bitch” in Spanish for refusing to budge. The hand of Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gillaccording to a video posted by the Associated Press.
“He’s not French, a Frenchman wouldn’t do that,” he added in the video, translated by AP.
That same day, after a long debate, the senate passed the motion rejecting Amarilla’s “racist and racist” comments. According to the statement sent by the Senate, Amarilla said that he acted to defend his country and he felt angered by Mbappe’s actions, but he took responsibility.
Sen. Basilio Núñez, president of the senate, said in a statement that his posts were “incorrect, and it does not represent what the majority of Paraguayans think.”
On Thursday, Amarilla said her Instagram had been hacked, writing to X that she is not responsible for anything posted there since then. A few hours later, he wrote on Instagram that he had recovered his account and “France can continue to bother me.”
‘Dehumanization’
Amarilla’s original comment about Mbappé, mocking the origin, upbringing, education and appearance of the French captain, condemned by The United Nations Office for Human Rights as “dehumanizing” and “despicable.”
The post was removed from X, but one is still visible on his Instagram account. In a post written in Spanish, Amarilla described Mbappé as a “Cameroonian, trying hard to pretend to be French.”
He also called him “bitter money, new, arrogant and ugly,” and said the Paraguayan players should have slapped him after the game.
In other posts cited by the media, Amarilla is reported to have 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.
French soccer star Kylian Mbappé had a falling out with Celeste Amarilla, a Paraguayan member of parliament, about four days after France defeated Paraguay in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here’s a timeline of how we got here.
Government of Paraguay issued a statement on Monday in the afternoon, writing in Spanish that Amarilla’s words are “against the values and principles that promote peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity that our country promotes.”
The French Football Federation on Monday condemned his posts as “utterly disgusting” and “unacceptable,” adding that it would refer the matter to prosecutors, which said on Tuesday. opened an investigation “to public insults that cost money and incite hatred or violence.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office said the words were “allegedly uttered because of the victim’s real or perceived origin, nationality, nationality, race, or religion.”
Offenses are punishable by one-year imprisonment and a 45,000-euro (approximately 73,000 Cdn) fine.
