The Government of the Republic of Paraguay, through the social media account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 'deplores and rejects' the statement of Senator Celeste Amarilla directed at French footballer Kylian Mbappe

'They are contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect human dignity, which our country promotes,' the statement read[…]
Amarilla, 61, is a Paraguayan lawyer and senator. She won as senator in the 2023 general election, representing the Authentic Radical Liberal Party. She was a deputy, or a member of the lower house, representing the Capital district from 2018 to 2023[…]
Following a heated game between France and Paraguay, where the French disposed of the Paraguayans in the Round of 16, Amarilla made disparaging and racist remarks against Mbappe. In a since-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), Amarilla said in Spanish, 'The brute didn't even learn to write; instead of mother's milk, he sucked on coconuts, and the most educated thing he heard was chimpanzees'

On Instagram, some of Amarilla's comments remain visible. With a photo of Mbappe, Amarilla wrote, 'Cameroonian colonised, pretending hard to be French, resentful, rich new, arrogant and ugly... The only thing that many of us complain about Albirroja is that we didn't slap him with an open hand after the match ended'[…]
Rather than apologising, Amarilla posted an open letter to Mbappe on her social media accounts. She doubled down on her criticism of the footballer, and clarified that her beef is with Mbappe and not France[…]
Closing her letter, Amarilla demanded that Mbappe retract his remarks and apologise, warning she would pursue legal action on grounds of gender-based violence if he failed to do so