A Paraguayan lawmaker's "racist and dehumanising" remarks about France's football World Cup star Kylian Mbappe were "despicable", but regrettably not isolated, the United Nations has said.
Celeste Amarilla, a member of the main opposition Liberal Party, called France's captain a "colonised Cameroonian who has really pretended to be French, embittered, nouveau riche, arrogant and ugly".
Amongst other comments, she accused the striker of being "scared to death" during France's 1-0 victory over Paraguay in Saturday's World Cup last-16 match in Philadelphia.
"The racist and dehumanising remarks against French footballer Kylian Mbappe by Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla are despicable and, regrettably, not isolated," UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Reports of racist incidents during the FIFA World Cup 2026 reflect a wider phenomenon across football and sports more broadly.
"Public officials have a heightened responsibility to stand against racism, discrimination and hate speech in their discourse."
Kheetan said states and sports organisations must actively work to prevent acts of racism and any other form of discrimination.
They should also ensure that there are independent and effective accountability mechanisms in place, he added.
"Social media companies also have a responsibility to prevent and address racial discrimination and xenophobic abuse on their platforms," said Kheetan.
Mbappe scored the only goal of Saturday's ill-tempered game with a penalty in the second half, taking the two-time World Cup winners through to a quarter-final this Thursday against Morocco.
On Monday, Paraguay's foreign ministry condemned Amarilla's remarks, saying they ran "contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity".
And FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he "unequivocally condemns" the racist abuse directed at the Real Madrid forward.
Amarilla deletes posts
Facing a barrage of criticism, Amarilla then deleted the posts and published an open letter saying the she regretted using "the same insults" that she herself had received as a mixed-race person.
Mbappe responded on X, calling Amarilla "a despicable woman and unworthy of your position," and saying he would "never allow people like her the freedom to spread their hatred and racism across the world."
Amarilla does "not represent Paraguay," he stressed.
Ahead of the game, former Paraguay goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert claimed his side were facing "a squad from Africa", eliciting strong reaction from French football administrator 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."
