Overview
- The row began after France beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday when Kylian Mbappé scored the winning penalty and Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill threw the ball at Mbappé after the final whistle.
- Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla posted explicit racist messages on social media that compared Mbappé to animals and questioned his French identity, language that major outlets reported as dehumanising and xenophobic.
- Mbappé publicly called Amarilla a “despicable woman” and said she was unworthy of office, prompting swift public rebukes from French officials including the sports minister and the presidency.
- The French Football Federation said the comments were criminal and has filed a report with prosecutors, while Paraguay’s government, FIFA and the United Nations also condemned the abuse and demanded accountability.
- Amarilla later deleted the posts and wrote an open letter saying the remarks were made in the heat of the moment, demanded Mbappé retract his words and threatened legal action, leaving investigations and diplomatic fallout unresolved.