Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla escalated her public feud with French football star Kylian Mbappe by repeating a crude insult against him during a formal address before the Paraguayan Senate, doubling down on a series of remarks that had already drawn widespread condemnation as racist. The confrontation follows France's last-16 victory over Paraguay at the World Cup.

What Happened in the Senate

Senator Amarilla, a member of Paraguay's Liberal Radical Party, used her Senate platform to justify her earlier posts and renew her attack on Mbappe, calling him a 'son of a …' in the chamber. Her stated grievance centred on what she described as Mbappe's refusal to shake hands with Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill after the World Cup match.

'When Orlando Gill, a boy who was surely setting foot in a World Cup for the first time, in Europe for the first time, was playing before the world and extended his hand with all the humility of a Paraguayan, and this son of a --- refused to shake his hand and yelled in his face – that is not French. A Frenchman would never have done that, never,' Amarilla stated before the Senate.

Mbappe's Counter-Response

Mbappe had previously responded to Amarilla's initial racist remarks with a sharp rebuke. 'You are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition,' the striker said.

Amarilla reacted furiously to that counter-response. She issued a formal open letter demanding a public apology from Mbappe and threatened legal action, alleging that French football's characterisation of her as 'despicable' amounted to 'gender-based violence' against her 'dignity as a woman and political representative.'

France Coach Backs Mbappe

Despite the controversy swirling around his star forward, France head coach Didier Deschamps expressed confidence in Mbappe's mental state ahead of the team's next fixture. 'Kylian is in a good place mentally. He's ready for tomorrow,' Deschamps told reporters. The coach noted that the squad's collective strength was helping players manage tournament pressures, particularly as France prepares for what is being billed as a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final against Morocco, referred to as the Atlas Lions.

Background and Broader Context

The row began with Amarilla's social media posts following Paraguay's World Cup elimination, in which she made remarks mocking Mbappe's origins — widely condemned as racist by commentators and football bodies. The escalation to the Senate floor marks a significant intensification, with a sitting legislator using parliamentary privilege to repeat an insult against a foreign athlete. Notably, this is not the first time a World Cup has triggered diplomatic-level friction between football nations, but the use of a national legislature as a platform for personal attacks on a player is rare and has drawn criticism beyond football circles.

With France still active in the tournament and Mbappe reportedly focused on the pitch, the episode is likely to draw further scrutiny of Amarilla's conduct from within Paraguay itself.