ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla has launched a fresh verbal assault against France national football team captain Kylian Mbappé, further escalating a bitter international controversy that has already triggered widespread global condemnation and a formal criminal investigation in France.
Amarilla originally drew intense backlash after posting racially charged insults aimed at the French superstar on social media following Paraguay's 1-0 defeat to France in the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Refusing to back down despite the mounting pressure, the senator utilized a legislative session on Wednesday to lob new insults at Mbappé while doubling down on her assertion that her behavior was entirely justified.
The senator's latest rhetoric comes just days after Mbappé publicly broke his silence on the matter, directly accusing Amarilla of brazen racism. The forward lamented that her bigoted commentary had severely tarnished Paraguay's international reputation, completely overshadowing what had otherwise been a historic and deeply competitive World Cup campaign for the South American nation.
The on-field match itself had already generated heavy scrutiny, with critics lambasting the Paraguayan squad for employing an overly aggressive, combative strategy. Observers accused the team of repeatedly crossing ethical boundaries through persistent tactical fouling, simulated injuries, and hostile provocations designed to rattle the French squad throughout the high-stakes encounter.
Mbappé, who secured France's victory by converting the match's lone goal from the penalty spot, was later accused by Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill of refusing a post-match handshake. It was this specific allegation that reportedly provoked Amarilla's initial legislative outburst.
According to transcripts obtained by RMC Sport, Amarilla addressed the Senate chamber on Wednesday to defend Gill and attack the French captain's character. She stated that when a young player like Gill, experiencing the grand stage of the World Cup and Europe for the first time, humbly extended his hand, Mbappé aggressively refused the gesture and shouted in his face. Amarilla argued that such behavior does not reflect the values of France, evoking intellectual figures like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, René Descartes, Montesquieu, Victor Hugo, and Simone de Beauvoir. She asserted that she refuses to reduce France's immense cultural, artistic, and democratic heritage to the actions of Mbappé.
However, the senator's baseline arguments stand in stark contrast to her initial, highly offensive digital statements. Immediately following the match, Amarilla took to the social media platform X, where she degraded the athlete by calling him a brute who had not even learned to write, alongside a stream of overt racial slurs. In subsequent posts, she encouraged Gill to respond with obscene gestures and characterized Mbappé as an arrogant, newly rich individual pretending to be French.
Amarilla also claimed that the French team spent the match paralyzed by fear, alleging they only won by a fluke. She added that the only thing many people demanded of the Paraguayan national team was that they should have physically assaulted the player after the final whistle.
The toxic atmosphere surrounding the sporting rivalry has extended far beyond the halls of congress. Since Paraguay's elimination from the tournament, reports and viral video footage have surfaced showing factions of disgruntled fans publicly burning effigies of the French captain in the streets, raising deep concerns over sportsmanship and international relations.
