Paraguay condems own senator for racist remarks against Mbappé

The Paraguayan Senate passed a motion against Senator Celeste Amarilla after her racist remarks against France star Kylian Mbappé, while the Senator insulted the player again during the Senate session Wednesday.

Amarilla had 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.

France advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will face Morocco on Thursday.

Late Monday, 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 in the senate session on Wednesday, she insulted again the French player with an expletive.

"I refuse to think that France is nothing more than the land of Mbappé. To me, it is much more, French people, much more. Stop crying like women over what you couldn't defend like men," Amarilla added.

Mbappé on Monday condemned a Paraguayan senator over racist remarks she made following Paraguay’s loss to France in the round of 16 at the World Cup.

Mbappé called Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, a “despicable woman” who was “unworthy” of serving in Paraguay's Congress.

The Paraguayan government released a statement Monday afternoon condemning Amarilla’s remarks as “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.

France's president, Emmanuel Macron, and sports minister Marina Ferrari voiced support for the national team’s captain.

“One more goal for Kylian Mbappé. This time against racism,” Macron wrote on X, adding the captain had his “full support.”