Warning: This story contains racist and graphic language.
He’s widely regarded as one of the best soccer players in the world. He’s the leading goalscorer in French soccer history. And on Saturday, he led his team to a 1-0 win over Paraguay, securing France a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals.
But that’s not why Kylian Mbappé is making headlines this week. Instead, the soccer star is embroiled in a scandal over racist remarks made by a Paraguayan senator that the United Nations Human Rights Office has called “dehumanizing” and “despicable” and have led to an investigation by French prosecutors.
Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, posted a series of racist comments on X after Mbappé converted the winning penalty in France’s victory over Paraguay on Saturday, mocking the French captain’s origins, upbringing, education and appearance.
The posts were deleted on X, but one is still visible on her Instagram account. In the post written in Spanish, Amarilla described Mbappé as a “colonized Cameroonian, trying so hard to pretend to be French.”
She also called him “bitter, new money, arrogant and ugly,” and said Paraguay’s players should have slapped him after the match.
In other posts cited by numerous media outlets, Amarilla also reportedly called Mbappé a “brute” who had not learned to write.
“Instead of mother’s milk, he sucked on coconuts, and the most educated thing he heard were chimpanzees,” Amarilla reportedly posted, according to numerous media outlets.
The Paraguayan government released a statement Monday afternoon, writing in Spanish that Amarilla’s remarks are “contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity that our country promotes.” It added that the senator’s comments do not represent either the Paraguayan government or the Paraguayan people.
The French Football Federation on Monday denounced Amarilla’s comments as “utterly abhorrent” and “unacceptable,” adding that it would refer the matter to prosecutors.
And UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said that while the comments were despicable, they were also, “regrettably, not isolated,” and reflect a wider phenomenon across soccer and sports more broadly.
On Monday, Mbappé, who is the French team’s captain, responded to Amarilla on X, calling her a “despicable woman” who was “unworthy” of serving in Paraguay’s Congress.
“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,” Mbappé wrote in French.
Madame Celeste Amarilla,
Vous êtes une femme méprisable et indigne de sa fonction.
Vous ne représentez pas le Paraguay, ce pays qui a transpiré la passion et l’honneur tout au long de la compétition. Par votre inconscience et votre racisme décomplexé, le monde entier a déjà… pic.twitter.com/EnYmgQXvPL
Later that day, Amarilla issued an open letter in French and Spanish to Mbappé on social media, in which she said her problem was with the player, not the country of France. She wrote that she regretted mistreating Mbappé with “the same insults” she’s received as a mixed-race person and that she had deleted her post.
But she also demanded an apology for the comments he made on X, accusing him of gender-based violence and threatening legal action.
In a media conference Tuesday, she added that France had no basis to pursue a case against her, according to video posted by The Associated Press.
She then said Mbappé can’t even find Paraguay on a map and added she has enough reason to file her own lawsuit against him. She warned the French Football Federation to hire a lawyer.
World Cup racism isn’t new
As the UN has pointed out, this is not an isolated incident of racism at sporting events in general and the World Cup specifically.
Even earlier this week, as Reuters reports, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia’s description of Senegal as one of “those teams” that “tend to lose their tactical structure towards the end of the match” reignited scrutiny of racially coded language at the World Cup.
Critics said Garcia’s remarks drew on a deeper history of racial stereotypes that have long cast Black players and African teams as naturally powerful and instinctive, yet tactically naive, emotionally fragile or unable to withstand pressure, according to Reuters.
Former Serbian footballer Rade Bogdanovic, who works as a commentator for the Serbian public broadcaster RTS, apologized after making racist remarks about Black players during the June 21 match between Belgium and Iran. His comments questioned the focus and stamina of Black players after the Group G game ended in a goalless draw, Reuters reports.
The FIFA Players’ Voice Panel (PVP) is deeply disturbed by the racist abuse suffered by France player Kylian Mbappé.
Racism is an attack on human dignity and has absolutely no place in football, at the FIFA World Cup™ or in society. pic.twitter.com/B7RRD5B4gF
FIFA has also launched an investigation into racism toward popular streamer IShowSpeed in the stands during the World Cup match between Argentina and Cape Verde, The Associated Press reports. A fan appeared to tell Speed, who is Black, to “go cry to the zoo,” AP reports.
FIFA released a statement about that incident, saying that it “strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms.”
On Tuesday, FIFA released a second statement regarding Mbappé, saying it was “deeply disturbed by the racist abuse.”
“Racism is an attack on human dignity and has absolutely no place in football, at the FIFA World Cup or in society,” the statement said.
In 2024, Canadian player Moise Bombito was the target of online racist abuse after tangling with Argentine captain Lionel Messi at Copa America. And in 2018, FIFA charged World Cup host Russia with fan racism after monkey chants were aimed at Black French players.
Last year, England defender Jess Carter said she’d been the target of online racist abuse after Euro 2025 began in Switzerland and stepped away from social media for the remainder of the tournament.
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