A Paraguayan senator has deleted social media posts that included racist remarks about French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé that led to Paris prosecutors opening an investigation into possible aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred or violence.
Celeste Amarilla, a 61-year-old senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, indicated in an open letter to Mbappé on Monday that she regretted the comments she posted following Paraguay’s 1-0 loss to France in a World Cup knockout game on Saturday.
In the same letter, however, Amarilla threatened to take legal action if Mbappé did not retract and apologize for comments he made in response to one of her posts.
“I won’t tolerate your abuse either,” she wrote.
Mbappé scored the only goal of Saturday’s round-of-16 game on a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Afterward, Amarilla took to Instagram and Twitter to make comments that insulted Mbappé ‘s cultural background, appearance, education and more. She has not responded to a request for comment from The Times.
The 27-year-old French captain responded Monday on X.
“You are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position,” Mbappé wrote. “You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honor throughout the competition. 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.”
The Paraguayan government said in a statement Monday that it “deplores and rejects” the senator’s comments which “in no way represent the position of the Government of the Republic of Paraguay or of the Paraguayan people.”
The French Football Federation — which said in a statement that Amarilla’s remarks were “utterly despicable and unacceptable” and “criminal and reprehensible” — turned in a complaint to the national unit for combating online hate.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told the Associated Press that it launched the probe because Amarilla’s comments “were allegedly made because of the victim’s actual or perceived origin, ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion.”
Amarilla said in her letter that her remarks were made in anger over what she perceived as Mbappé’s disrespectful behavior toward the Paraguayans before, during and after the game.
“Shortly afterward I regretted having treated you with the same insults I receive, because I, too, am looked down upon for being dark-skinned and Latina,” Amarilla wrote. “… I realized I was repeating patterns I detest, so I deleted it. I understand that this upset you, because it’s humiliating.”
Amarilla then went on the offensive.
“Who are you to call me unworthy or despicable when you don’t even know me!!” she wrote. “This is pure and simple gender-based violence!! Political violence against a woman who reached her current position through the popular vote of her people. …
“I did not attack your race or your preferences — so do not attack my status as a woman and a politician. Retract your statement to me, honor your French citizenship, and apologize to me; otherwise, I may take legal action for gender-based violence.”
