Kylian Mbappé and Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla (Agency photo)
Paraguay senator Celeste Amarilla has demanded a public apology from France captain Kylian Mbappe and warned she may take legal action after the footballer described her as a “despicable woman” over racist remarks she made after Paraguay’s exit from the World Cup.The row began after Amarilla posted offensive comments on social media following France’s round of 16 win over Paraguay, referring to Mbappe as a “colonial Cameroonian” who was “pretending to be French, resentful, nouveau riche, arrogant and ugly”. She also claimed that France “accidentally won and that Mbappe was nervous and scared to death throughout the match, like his entire team.”
Kylian Mbappe’s participation
Mbappe responded by calling Amarilla a “despicable woman” who “does not deserve” to serve in Paraguay’s Congress.Amarella has now issued a lengthy response to X, insisting her criticism was only directed at Mbappe and not France, a country she says she has admired all her life.“The problem is between you and me. I have never said anything against France, on the contrary, I am with you. I studied in a French school from the time I was two years old until I was seventeen, and I finished my studies there. I am what I am now thanks to Inmacoli Concepcion College, and I am here because of the education you gave me.
We sang the French national anthem and honored his flag with our flag. I speak French and I love visiting France. Last Christmas, I spent it with my family in Courchevel, and we welcomed the New Year in Saint-Tropez.
It has nothing to do with France. “The problem is with you,” Amarilla wrote.Senator Mbappé was accused of disrespecting Paraguay before and during the World Cup match, referring to statements she interpreted as insulting.“Your arrogance and contempt have been getting on my nerves since before the match, when you said: ‘If we have to get our hands dirty, let’s get ourselves dirty’. We are not stupid. We understand very well that the dirty things were in the Paraguayan team, and that we are all the Paraguayan team. Then you said that they would remove the make-up. We understand that too, that you look very elegant with make-up, and we, poor and rough, don’t even know what it is.”
All of Paraguay fell silent, including me. “We took it,” she added.Amarilla also claimed that Mbappe showed poor sportsmanship during and after the match.“During the match, your arrogant behavior was evident, your disdain for every player, as if it was disgusting, and without even covering your mouth, when you said ‘La concha de tu madre’, which is a very aggressive phrase in Latin America, and you know it.”She also claimed that Mbappe failed to show respect to the Paraguay goalkeeper after the final whistle.“Finally, you have ignored the health of our team’s goalkeeper. This is simply unacceptable. Respect between rivals after the match is almost sacred, in war as well as in peace, in defeat as well as in victory, and you did not shake his hand and shout your victory in his face – this is simply unacceptable. You showed your contempt, your arrogance and your bad manners in one second.
It hurt me, and it hurt my entire country, deeply.
France must hold you accountable, because it is a nation of knights, with centuries of history and experience. “France must hold you accountable for your behavior,” she wrote.Amarella admitted that she has since deleted her original post after thinking about the language she used.“My leaflets were full of boiling blood, that mixed blood, that beautiful mixture of native blood with Spanish blood running through my veins.
This is what I wrote about today’s posts when I made fun of these phenomenal players from Paraguay who fought on equal terms until the end of the match. However, immediately, I regretted abusing you with the same insults I receive, because I am also despised for being mixed race and Latina, and being called dirty.
I regretted it and deleted the post. I realized I was repeating patterns I hated, and I deleted them. “I understand that it upset you, because it is humiliating,” she said.Despite this admission, the senator insisted that Mbappé must also withdraw his statements.“Now, I also demand that you withdraw your statement and apologize to me. I also will not tolerate your violence. You do not know me, you have no idea who I am, and you have no right to say that I am a vile woman, unworthy of the position I hold. I am a senator of the Paraguayan nation, elected by the people. Before that, I was a national representative, elected by the people as well.”
Thousands of Paraguayans voted for me and consider me their voice.
My primary commitment is to be the voice of the people of Paraguay, to speak out against their silence, and to defend my country with my life. “This is what is expected of me,” Amarilla wrote.She continued to defend her democratic mandate.“I represent my country because I was elected in a free election. I was freely elected to make its laws and be its voice.
You have no idea what it means to be elected to defend your country, to be the voice of the people. I was elected to the National Senate. I don’t know if you realize the importance of my position.”At the conclusion of her statement, Amarella accused Mbappé of political and gender-based violence, and warned that she was considering taking legal action if he did not apologise.“Who are you to call me undeserving or despicable when you don’t even know me?! Gender-based violence, pure and simple! Political violence against a woman who got to where she is thanks to the popular vote of her people. You despise me precisely because of my gender; you abuse me specifically because I am a woman. You do not attack my skin color, my preferences, my status as a woman, or my political stance. Retract your statement with me, respect your French nationality, and apologize, or I may take legal action because of my gender,” he concluded. Amarilla his words with violence.