Racist Paraguayan senator now accuses Mbappé of ‘gender-based violence’

The Paraguayan senator at the centre of a racism storm with Kylian Mbappé has now demanded an apology from the France forward and threatened legal action against him for “gender-based violence”.

The row erupted after Paraguay’s round-of-16 defeat to France, sealed by an Mbappé penalty.

Senator Celeste Amarilla had launched a racial attack on the Real Madrid man, calling him “stupid” and telling Paraguay’s goalkeeper he “should have given him the middle finger.” Mbappé hit back, branding her “unworthy” of her position and refusing, he said, to let people “spread their hatred and racism across the world.”

Now, in an open letter, Amarilla has retracted the slurs but doubled down on the rest. She said her posts were written “in the heat of the moment,” while insisting Mbappé withdraw his remarks and apologise. “This is gender-based violence, plain and simple,” she wrote, threatening legal proceedings.

The institutional weight has landed firmly on one side. The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened a probe after the FFF filed a complaint over aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred. Paraguay’s own government condemned Amarilla’s comments as contrary to “respect for human dignity,” stressing they don’t represent the nation or its people.

France president Emmanuel Macron weighed in too: “Another goal for Kylian Mbappé. Against racism this time.”

Let’s be honest about where this sits. A retraction wrapped in fresh accusations isn’t an apology and a World Cup that should be remembered for Paraguay’s spirited run is instead remembered for this.