Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla renewed her attacks on France captain Kylian Mbappe in a Senate speech on Wednesday, refusing to apologise even as French prosecutors investigate her earlier racist remarks.
The row began after Paraguay lost 1-0 to France in the World Cup Round of 16 on July 4, with Mbappe converting the only goal from the penalty spot. Amarilla responded with a series of social media posts mocking Mbappe’s Cameroonian heritage, his upbringing and his appearance.
Mbappe hit back on Monday, calling Amarilla a “despicable woman” unworthy of her office and accusing her of tarnishing Paraguay’s World Cup run through what he described as brazen racism. Paraguay’s government distanced itself from her comments, saying they clashed with the values the country promotes and did not reflect the position of the state. The French Football Federation called her remarks unacceptable and said it would take the matter to prosecutors, a move French President Emmanuel Macron publicly backed.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has since confirmed it opened an investigation after receiving a complaint from the French Football Federation, examining allegations of aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred through the country’s online hate crimes unit.
Amarilla addressed the backlash in an open letter posted late Monday, in which she deleted her original posts and said she regretted matching the insults she said she had faced herself as a mixed race Latin American woman. She nonetheless accused Mbappe of gender based violence over his response and demanded he apologise, threatening legal action of her own.
Despite that partial retreat, Amarilla escalated the dispute again on the Senate floor Wednesday, using a vulgar insult against Mbappe and alleging he had refused to shake the hand of Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill after the match, an incident she said did not reflect France’s character. “That is not French. A Frenchman would never have done that,” she said.
