France striker Kylian Mbappe has hit back at a Paraguayan senator, describing her as a "despicable woman" after she launched a racist attack on him following Paraguay's elimination from the World Cup.
Mbappe's penalty proved the difference in a bruising and ill-tempered match as France won 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday to advance to the quarter-finals.
Celeste Amarilla wrote a long, slur-filled racist tirade on X, describing Mbappe as a "colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French," and as a "brute" who had not learned to write.
Paraguay's players should have slapped him after the match, she added.
Mbappe, the France captain, responded with a strongly worded statement defending not only himself but also the Paraguay players.
"Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition," he wrote.
"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, making way for an incompetent woman who gives the worst possible image of her country.
"I will never allow people like her the freedom to spread their hatred and racism across the world."
Criminal remarks
The tense match in Philadelphia saw several clashes, including a post-match incident where Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill threw the ball at Mbappe.
"I tried to shake his hand, but since he didn’t pay me any attention, I lost my temper," Gill said after the game.
"You should've shown him the finger, Orlando Gill; I do it in the senate and nothing happens!!!" said Amarilla in her racist post.
The French Football Federation (FFF) escalated the matter, announcing plans to file criminal charges, describing her remarks as "utterly abhorrent and unacceptable".
"These remarks are criminal and reprehensible. They must be prosecuted here as elsewhere. The FFF is reporting the matter to the public prosecutor's office with a view to legal proceedings," it said.
"These remarks bring shame upon those who make them and those who disseminate them. The players of the French national team represent France; it is our country that is being insulted."
Ahead of the game, former Paraguay goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert claimed his side were facing "a squad from Africa", eliciting strong reaction from FFF president Philippe Diallo, who called Chilavert a "disgrace".
"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the racist remarks made by Jose Luis Chilavert against the French national team, which undermine the values of respect, fraternity, and diversity in our football," Diallo said.
"If he was once a great goalkeeper, this man has now fallen into disgrace."
