Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla has demanded an apology from France captain Kylian Mbappé and warned she could face legal action against the player after calling her a “despicable woman” for racist remarks she made after pulling out of the FIFA World Cup in Paraguay.The controversy began when Amarilla posted an offensive message on social media following France’s Round of 16 victory over Paraguay, calling Mbappé a “Cameroonian colonialist” who “pretends to be French, angry, newly rich, proud, and ugly.” He added that France “won with the flu and Mbappe was nervous and afraid to kill the whole game, like his whole team.”
Kylian Mbappé post
Mbappé responded by calling Amarilla a “despicable woman” who was “unfit” to serve in the Paraguayan Congress.Amarilla has now responded at length to X, insisting that his criticism was directed at Mbappé and not at France, the country he says he has admired all his life.“The problem is between you and me. I have never said anything against France; on the contrary, I am with you. I studied at a French school from the age of two to the age of seventeen, and I finished my studies there. I am who I am because of the Collège de l’Inmaculee Concepcion, and I am here because of the education they gave me. We sang and honored the French flag and visited La Marseilla. Last Christmas, I spent 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.The senator criticized Mbappé for disrespecting Paraguay before and during the World Cup, referring to what he interpreted as insults.“Your arrogance and cynicism have bothered me since before the game, when you said, ‘If we have to get our hands dirty, let’s get dirty.’ We are not stupid; we understand very well that dirty things were a Paraguayan group, and that we are all a Paraguayan group. So you said they will remove the makeup. We also understand that you look very beautiful with makeup, and we, poor and mature as we are, don’t even know what it is. All the Paraguayans fell silent, including me. We took it,” he added.Amarilla also reported that Mbappé showed poor performance during and after the match.“In the match, your arrogant behavior was visible, your contempt for each player, as if they were disgusted, and not closing your mouth, when you said, ‘La concha de tu madre,’ the most aggressive word in Latin America, and you knew it.”He also said that Mbappé did not pay respect to the Paraguayan player after the final whistle.“And finally, you ignored the health of our guard. This is unacceptable. The respect between the fighters after the match is almost sacred, in war as in peace, you are defeated if you are victorious, and you did not shake his hand and shout your victory in front of him – it is unacceptable. You showed your contempt, and your arrogance once. It hurt me, it hurt my whole world, and deeply. France should blame you, because it is a military country, with a long history and technology. France should blame you for your behavior,” he said.Amarilla admitted that she removed her original post after thinking about the language she used.“My writings were full of boiling blood, mixed blood, a beautiful combination of Indian blood and Spanish blood running through my veins. This is what I wrote on today’s page where you insulted the great Paraguayan players who fought evenly until the end of the game. However, at the same time, I regretted that I treated you with insults and insults that I received, because I am also insulted for being different and Latina, who is called dirty. I regretted it and deleted the post. I realized I was repeating what I hated, and I got rid of it. I understand that you are worried, because it is embarrassing,” he said.Despite this admission, the senator insisted that Mbappé must also withdraw his comments.“Now, I ask that you also take back your words and apologize to me. I will not tolerate your violence. You do not know me, you do not know who I am, and you have no right to say that I am an ugly woman, unfit for the office I have. I am a Senator of the country of Paraguay, elected by the people. Before this, I was also elected by the National Deputy. Thousands of Paraguayans voted for me and saw me as their voice. My greatest commitment is to be the voice of the Paraguayan people, to speak out against their silence, and to protect my country and my life. This is what I expect from myself,” wrote Amarilla.He continued to defend his democratic position.“I am representing my country because I was elected in a free election. I was elected freely to make its laws and be its voice. You don’t know what it means to be chosen to defend your country, to be the voice of the people. I was elected a National Senator; I don’t know if you realize the importance of my position.”At the end of his speech, Amarilla criticized Mbappé for political and gender violence and warned that he was considering taking action against him if he did not apologize.“Who are you to call me unworthy or despicable when you don’t know me?! Pure and simple gender violence! Political violence against a woman who has reached a place with the popular vote of her people. You insult me precisely because of my gender; you offend me precisely because I am a woman. You do not fight my skin, my position, my political position, bring my respect for a woman, my respect, my respect for a woman, my respect, my respect; citizenship, I’m sorry, or I can take action because of gender violence,” concluded Amarilla.
