Mbappe slams ‘despicable’ racist posts from politician as France take legal action
Kylian Mbappe faced a racist attack from a Paraguayan senator after his penalty clinched France’s win on Saturday (4 July).
The team took a 1-0 win over Paraguay in the bad-tempered game in Philadelphia to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals.
But it seems Celeste Amarilla hasn’t taken the loss well, as she shared vile posts about the French captain on social media.
The senator called the striker a ‘colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French’. She also labelled Mbappe as a ‘brute who had not learned to write’ and said that Paraguay’s players should have slapped him after the match.
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In response to her racist attack, the French Golden Boot hopeful hit out, calling Amarilla a ‘despicable woman’. And the French Football Federation (FFF) now plans to file criminal charges.
Mbappe statement
Responding to Amarilla’s racist tirade on social media, Mbappe shared a statement that defended not only himself but Paraguay’s team.
“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.“
Statement from the FFF
A founding member of Fifa and France’s international governing body of football, the FFF announced that it plans to file criminal charges following Amarilla’s posts on X.
It described her remarks as ‘utterly abhorrent and unacceptable’.
“These remarks are criminal and reprehensible,” a statement read.
“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.”
Paraguayan responses
Representatives from Paraguay have also spoken out to condemn Amarilla’s posts with the government saying in a statement: “The Government of the Republic of Paraguay deplores and rejects the statements made by Senator Celeste Amarilla directed as the captain of the French national football team, Kylian Mbappe, as they are contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity, which our country promotes.”
Vice President Pedro Alliana also said: “Football is an expression of brotherhood. It should united countries and people. Within the passions and emotions of its realm, there is no room for any form of discrimination."
Jess Battison