France’s forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 football match between France and Sweden at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on June 30, 2026. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Kylian Mbappé on Monday labelled a Paraguayan senator “despicable” and “not worthy of her position” after she racially abused the France captain on social media after the World Cup last-16 clash between the countries at the weekend.
Mbappé’s reaction came after Celeste Amarilla attacked the Real Madrid superstar in the wake of Saturday’s game in Philadelphia, a bad-tempered affair which France won 1-0.
“Mrs Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and not worthy of your position,” Mbappé wrote on X.
“You do not represent Paraguay, the country that has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition.
“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 added.
Amarilla racially abused Mbappé and in another post called him a “colonised Cameroonian who has really pretended to be French, embittered, nouveau riche, arrogant and ugly”, and accused him of being “scared to death” during the game.
The comments have provoked an angry reaction in France, with the country’s sports minister, Marina Ferrari, describing them as “abject, disgraceful and all the more unacceptable coming from a politician”.
Mbappé, whose father was originally from Cameroon before settling in France, scored the only goal of the game from a penalty in the second half, taking Les Bleus through to a quarter-final this Thursday against Morocco.
AFP
