Paraguayan senator insults Mbappé with racist remarks

Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla de Boccia launched a racist tirade against French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé on social media after a heated World Cup match. Amarilla de Boccia posted on X, calling Mbappé a "fool" who "never learned to write." She suggested he "sucked coconuts instead of breast milk" and that the "most educated thing he ever heard were chimpanzees."

During the match, which France won 1-0 against Paraguay's conquerors, Mbappé was repeatedly fouled. After the game, a frustrated Mbappé refused to shake hands with Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill, instead celebrating with a provocative gesture. Gill responded by throwing the ball at Mbappé's back.

Amarilla de Boccia continued her attack on Instagram, labeling Mbappé a "colonized Cameroonian" who plays as a "hard Frenchman." She accused him of having "inferiority complexes, being nouveau riche, arrogant, and ugly." The senator claimed Mbappé was nervous and "scared to death" throughout the game, as was his entire team. "They didn't even score a goal and only won with a lot of luck," she wrote, adding that many Paraguayans wished someone had "slapped him hard" after the final whistle.

Mbappé responded forcefully to the senator's insults, calling her "a despicable woman and unworthy of your office." He stated she did not represent the Paraguay that had shown "passion and honor" throughout the World Cup. "Through your ignorance and your shameless racism, the world has already forgotten the historic path and commitment of your players during this World Cup, to make way for an incompetent lady who conveys the worst possible image of her country," Mbappé wrote. He vowed to "never give people like Celeste Amarilla de Boccia the freedom to spread their hate and racism in the world."

France's Minister of Sports, Marina Ferrari, also reacted with outrage. "These statements are abominable, unworthy, and all the more unacceptable as they come from a political official," Ferrari posted on X. She asserted that by attacking Mbappé, Amarilla de Boccia was attacking "everything our captain embodies, and everything our country stands for: freedom, the..."