Sao Paulo, Brazil — France national team player Kylian Mbappé publicly criticized comments Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla made about him this week.
Amarilla, a lawmaker opposed to President Santiago Peña’s government, wrote on social media: “Cruel bastard. He didn’t even learn how to write. He sucked coconuts instead of breast milk, and the most cultured being he had ever heard of was a chimpanzee. They should have given him the finger, Orlando Gill. I did that in the Senate, but nothing happened!!!”
The senator’s remarks in Spanish came after the match between the two countries. France eliminated Paraguay from the World Cup last Saturday with Mbappe’s lone goal in the 70th minute.
Amarilla commented on a post by the magazine “Diário Olé”, which claimed that the French striker refused to shake hands with Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gil after the match. In another post, the senator called the French player ‘colonized’, ugly and indignant.
In response, Mbappe called the politician “a vile woman unworthy of her position” and said she did not represent Paraguay.
He added that “due to a lack of common sense and blatant racism” the world will now forget the historic journey and efforts of Paraguay’s players at the World Cup and make way “for an incompetent woman who projects the worst image of her country.”
A photo of the senator was attached to the post, which had been viewed 87 million times at the time of publication.
Following the public response from Mbappé, who has at least 20 million followers on X alone, Senator Amarilla posted a letter he sent to the Real Madrid star in French. She said she wrote the post in anger and demanded that Mbappe retract his comments and apologize to her as well.
The Paraguayan government condemned Amarilla’s post and said her comments did not represent the country.
The French Football Association condemned the remark and announced that it would refer it to the prosecution and take legal action.
The reaction also prompted comments from French President Emmanuel Macron, who congratulated Mbappe on the plan and “scoring another goal against racism.”
French and international soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé is competing in his third World Cup.
He made his tournament debut in 2018, winning the world title against Croatia under coach Didier Deschamps.
He also reached the 2022 World Cup final, but France lost the title to Argentina on penalties after a 3-3 draw, with all three of France’s goals scored by Mbappe.
Featured image of Kylian Mbappé and Celeste Amarilla
Image credit: Kylian Mbappé and Celeste Amarilla via X
