A racism dispute following France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 has escalated after Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla demande...
A racism dispute following France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 has escalated after Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla demanded an apology from French captain Kylian Mbappé and warned that she could pursue legal action over remarks he made in response to her social media posts.
The controversy began after Amarilla published a series of posts on social media following Paraguay’s defeat to France. The posts mocked Mbappé’s origins, upbringing, education and appearance. Although the posts have since been deleted, they attracted widespread criticism from political leaders, football authorities and members of the public.
Mbappé responded on Monday by describing the senator’s comments as “brazen racism.” He said the remarks had overshadowed Paraguay’s historic World Cup campaign and damaged the country’s international image. His response quickly became one of the most discussed off-field stories of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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The dispute intensified later on Monday when Amarilla released an open letter addressed directly to the French forward in both French and Spanish. While acknowledging that she regretted using insults similar to those she had personally experienced as a mixed-race woman of Indigenous and Spanish heritage, she insisted that Mbappé also owed her an apology.
“My problem is not with France. It is with you,” Amarilla wrote. She said she had a long-standing connection with France, explaining that she attended a French school from the age of two until 17, learned the French language during her education and regularly visits the country.
The senator claimed her anger stemmed from comments she alleged Mbappé made before France’s Round of 16 match against Paraguay. According to Amarilla, the French captain suggested that France would have to “put its hands in s***” to face Paraguay. She also referred to reported remarks about France needing to “take off its tuxedo” to play against the South American side. Amarilla argued that these comments portrayed France as refined while presenting Paraguay as uncivilised.
She further accused Mbappé of showing disrespect throughout the match. Amarilla alleged that he displayed contempt towards Paraguayan players, used one of Latin America’s most offensive insults against an opponent and ignored an attempted handshake from Paraguay’s goalkeeper after the final whistle. “You showed your contempt, your arrogance and your bad manners. It hurt me and my country a lot,” she wrote.
Although Amarilla admitted that her own comments had gone too far and said they were written while emotions were running high after Paraguay’s defeat, she maintained that Mbappé’s public criticism amounted to “gender violence” and “political violence.” She objected to being described as a “despicable woman” who was “unworthy” of holding public office and defended her political career by noting that she had been elected by Paraguayan voters. She demanded that Mbappé retract his statements and apologise, warning that she could seek legal action if he failed to do so.
The controversy has drawn strong reactions from both Paraguay and France. Paraguay’s government distanced itself from Amarilla’s remarks, saying they did not reflect the country’s values or represent the views of either the government or the Paraguayan people. The French Football Federation condemned the comments as “utterly abhorrent and unacceptable” and said the matter would be referred to prosecutors.
French President Emmanuel Macron publicly backed Mbappé, saying the France captain had scored “another goal… against racism this time.” He added that when hateful words are spoken, the country’s values of dignity, respect and fraternity should prevail. French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari also defended Mbappé, describing attacks against him as attacks on the values of liberty, equality and fraternity, while France assistant coach Guy Stéphan described the incident as “indignant, abject, scandalous.”
The dispute unfolded against the backdrop of wider tensions surrounding France’s World Cup campaign. Before the Round of 16 match, former Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert reportedly referred to France as “a squad from Africa,” comments that also attracted criticism from French football officials. The latest exchange between Amarilla and Mbappé has further highlighted the continuing challenge of addressing racism and discrimination in football during one of the sport’s biggest global tournaments.
