Mbappe, FFF hit back at Paraguayan senator Amarilla over racist tirade

Amarilla called Mbappe a ‘colonised Cameroonian’ after his penalty helped France knock out Paraguay from the World Cup.

France striker Kylian Mbappe and the country’s football federation have hit back at a Paraguayan senator who launched a racist attack on the player following Paraguay’s elimination from the World Cup.

The French Football Federation (FFF) said on Monday that it will file a report with the prosecutor’s office for the purpose of judicial action against Celeste ⁠⁠Amarilla, shortly after Mbappe responded to the Paraguayan’s outburst on social media.

Mbappe, who has led France’s charge at the World Cup both as its captain and leading goal scorer, described Amarilla as ⁠⁠a “despicable woman” and the FFF termed her tirade “utterly abhorrent and unacceptable”.

The 27-year-old’s ⁠⁠penalty proved the difference in a bruising and ill-tempered match as France won 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals.

⁠Amarilla wrote a long, slur-filled racist tirade on X, describing Mbappe as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and as a “brute” who had not learned to write. Paraguay’s players should have slapped him ‌‌after the match, she added.

Mbappe responded with a strongly worded statement defending not only himself but also the Paraguay players.

“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.”

The FFF said it backed Mbappe, the French players and “all victims of such odious remarks”, adding that the remarks were “criminal and reprehensible”.

“They [remarks] must be prosecuted here as elsewhere. The FFF is filing a report with the prosecutor’s office for the purpose of judicial action.”

“These remarks dishonour those who make them and those who spread them. The players of the France National Team represent France; it is our country that is being insulted.”

France face Morocco in the first quarterfinal in Boston on Thursday. Les Bleus last won the title in 2018 and were runners-up to Argentina in the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.