"Despicable. Unworthy of serving in Paraguay's Congress." That was Kylian Mbappé's response after Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla posted a string of racist attacks targeting him on social media following France's 1-0 win over Paraguay in the World Cup round of 16.
Amarilla, of Paraguay's Liberal Radical Party, didn't just criticize Mbappé's penalty — she attacked his heritage, his appearance, and his intelligence. In posts that have since been deleted from X but remain visible on Instagram, she called him a "colonized Cameroonian, trying so hard to pretend to be French." She called him "bitter, new money, arrogant and ugly" and said Paraguay's players should have hit him after the match. Other posts, widely cited by media outlets, went further — invoking language so dehumanizing that the United Nations Human Rights Office publicly condemned them.
The UN called the comments "despicable." The French Football Federation called them "utterly abhorrent." French prosecutors have opened an investigation.
A senator, an apology that wasn't, and a counter-threat
Amarilla eventually issued an open letter in French and Spanish — but it wasn't quite a clean apology. She said her problem was with the player, not France, and claimed she'd used "the same insults" she'd received as a mixed-race person, framing it almost as a shared grievance. Then she pivoted to threatening legal action against Mbappé, accusing him of gender-based violence for calling her "despicable."
By Tuesday she was at a press conference warning the French Football Federation to hire a lawyer, insisting France had no legal basis to pursue her, and claiming Mbappé couldn't find Paraguay on a map. Not exactly the behaviour of someone who regrets what they said.
FIFA, for its part, released a statement saying it was "deeply disturbed by the racist abuse" — which lands a little hollow given how regularly these statements have to be issued.
This keeps happening
The UN's spokesperson put it plainly: this is "regrettably, not isolated." And a look at just this tournament backs that up. Belgium coach Rudi Garcia's comments about Senegal drew accusations of racially coded language. A Serbian broadcaster apologized after racist remarks about Black players during a group stage match. FIFA is investigating racist abuse aimed at streamer IShowSpeed from a fan during Argentina vs Cape Verde.
The pattern is consistent. High-profile racism occurs. Statements are released. Investigations are opened. The tournament continues.
Mbappé, the all-time leading scorer in French football history, converted the winning penalty that put France into the quarterfinals. That's what Saturday was about. Instead, the week's headlines belong to a senator who apparently couldn't accept losing to him.
