The French national team advanced past the round of 16 after a gutsy 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday. The only goal of the game came from a penalty kick by a French star in the 70th minute. The lack of offense can be explained by Paraguay’s philosophy, which was seemingly nothing more than to park the bus and antagonize the French players, especially Kylian Mbappé.
Mbappé laughed off Paraguay’s antics throughout the match, but notably refrained from shaking hands with Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill, leading to Gill throwing the ball at Mbappé’s back.
Gill wasn’t the only person representing Paraguay after the match. Senator Celeste Amarilla had a controversial statement with racist undertones after the match.
“This brute hasn’t even learned to write. Instead of breastmilk, he grew up sucking on coconuts, and the most educated creatures he ever heard were chimpanzees. You should’ve given him the middle finger, Orlando Gill,” Amarilla posted on X.
“A colonized Cameroonian, pretending to be French, resentful, newly rich, arrogant, and ugly. He was nervous and scared to death all game, like his whole team. They didn’t even manage to score a single goal, until they got lucky with a penalty. The only thing many of us blame the team for is not giving him a full-handed slap at the end of the game. I’m not even a football fan.”
Mbappé did not hold back in his response to the senator.
“Madame Celeste Amarilla,” Mbappé started his response with, addressing the insults directly. “You are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honor throughout the competition.
Madame Celeste Amarilla,
Vous êtes une femme méprisable et indigne de sa fonction.
Vous ne représentez pas le Paraguay, ce pays qui a transpiré la passion et l’honneur tout au long de la compétition. Par votre inconscience et votre racisme décomplexé, le monde entier a déjà… pic.twitter.com/EnYmgQXvPL— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) July 6, 2026
“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.”
“What a guy.”
Mbappé’s response earned heaps of praise on social media.
“TELL THAT RACIST SCUM MBAPPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” one fan posted on X.
“Calling this monster out and not letting her affect his perception on an entire country. What a guy,” someone else posted.
“Need more athletes to do THIS and stand up for themselves by directly calling out the people hurling abuse at them. More power to you Kylian Mbappe,” one fan added.
The Paraguayan Football Association and FIFA both have yet to release official statements on Amarillo’s post. Mbappé and France are slated to play Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.