Kylian Mbappé hit back hard at a Paraguayan senator on Monday, calling her "despicable" and unfit for office after she racially abused him on social media. The Real Madrid star's response followed Saturday's World Cup last-16 match between France and Paraguay in Philadelphia, which France won 1-0 in a heated encounter.
Senator Celeste Amarilla launched the attack after the final whistle, targeting Mbappé with racist remarks on social media. She also described him as a "colonised Cameroonian who has really pretended to be French, embittered, nouveau riche, arrogant and ugly" and claimed he played "scared to death" during the contest.
Mbappé took to X to defend himself directly. "Mrs Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and not worthy of your position," he wrote.
He went further in his statement, arguing that Amarilla had damaged her own country's reputation. "You do not represent Paraguay, the country that has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition," the France captain added.
Mbappé then underlined the scale of the damage her remarks had caused. "Through your lack of awareness and your uninhibited racism, the entire world has already forgotten your team's run and historic effort at this World Cup," he said.
France's sports minister, Marina Ferrari, condemned Amarilla's comments as "abject, disgraceful and all the more unacceptable coming from a politician". Mbappé, whose father was originally from Cameroon, converted a second-half penalty to seal victory and send France into Thursday's quarter-final against Morocco.
