Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
Kylian Mbappe racist attack controversy has intensified after the France captain responded to Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla following France’s 1-0 FIFA World Cup win over Paraguay in Philadelphia.
Mbappe’s penalty sent France into the quarter-finals, but the aftermath was dominated by Amarilla’s racist comments on X and the French Football Federation’s plan to file criminal charges.
The incident came during another heated knockout week, with Brazil’s World Cup exit exposing missed chances and tactical flaws against Norway.
Mbappe Hits Back
Amarilla described Mbappe as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and as a “brute who had not learned to write”.
She also wrote that Paraguay’s players should have slapped him after the match.
Mbappe responded with a statement defending himself and Paraguay’s squad.
“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.“
French Federation Takes Action
The French Football Federation said it would report the matter to prosecutors, calling Amarilla’s remarks “utterly abhorrent and unacceptable”.
“These remarks are criminal and reprehensible. 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.”
On the pitch, France stayed alive through Mbappe’s penalty in an ill-tempered match.
Official tournament updates are available through FIFA.
