Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla has heavily escalated her ongoing public feud with France captain Kylian Mbappe, launching an aggressive new verbal assault on the forward during an official legislative session.
The opposition lawmaker, who has faced immense global condemnation for targeting the player with racial slurs following Paraguay’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, refused to soften her stance, using explicit language on the Senate floor to denounce the Real Madrid star.
The diplomatic and sporting row erupted immediately after France eliminated Paraguay with a narrow 1-0 victory in a highly combustible Round of 16 match.
Following the final whistle, Amarilla published deeply offensive remarks on social media, describing Mbappé as a “colonised Cameroonian” who was “pretending to be French.”
Mbappe quickly hit back at the comments, branding Amarilla a “despicable woman” who was “unworthy of her position,” while adding that her outbursts had completely overshadowed the historic on-field efforts of the Paraguayan national team.
The senate floor tirade
Rather than de-escalating the situation, Amarilla doubled down on her hostility, shifting her justification to an on-field flashpoint involving Paraguay’s young goalkeeper, Orlando Gill.
Gill had previously alleged that Mbappe deliberately snubbed his attempt to shake hands after the tense encounter, causing the goalkeeper to temporarily lose his temper and throw the match ball toward the French forward.
Addressing the Paraguayan assembly, Amarilla claimed her anger was fueled entirely by a defence of her compatriot’s dignity.
“When Orlando Gill, a young man who was setting foot in the World Cup for the first time, who was discovering Europe for the first time, was playing in front of the whole world and extended his hand with all the humility of a Paraguayan, this son of a b*** refused to shake his hand and shouted in his face,” she stated.
The senator then attempted to contrast Mbappe’s actions with the broader historical legacy of France, naming thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Simone de Beauvoir.
“That behaviour is not French. A Frenchman would never have done that. I refuse to reduce all of this immense France, as well as its immense cultural, artistic, and democratic heritage, to Mbappe,” Amarilla added.
Global condemnation and legal threats
The ongoing feud has grown into a major geopolitical talking point alongside the knockout stages of the tournament.
The United Nations Human Rights Office, FIFA officials, and the French Football Federation have all strongly condemned the initial remarks, categorising them as deeply racist and dehumanising.
The Paraguayan government itself has moved quickly to distance the state from the lawmaker, with the country’s foreign ministry issuing a formal declaration stating that her views in no way reflect the principles of the Paraguayan government or its citizenry.
Despite the pressure, Amarilla had previously threatened to explore legal avenues against Mbappe, claiming his public response, labelling her “despicable”, constituted gender-based political violence.
As France prepares for its upcoming quarter-final match against Morocco, the fallout continues to burn back home in South America, where local reports indicate pockets of disgruntled supporters have gone as far as publicly burning effigies of the French captain.
