A heated verbal conflict between Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla and French football star Kylian Mbappe has escalated, with Amarilla publishing an open letter demanding an apology from the striker and threatening legal action for gender-based violence.
The dispute originated after France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the World Cup Last 16, a match decided by Mbappe’s winning goal from the penalty spot. Following the final whistle, Mbappe notably snubbed a handshake with Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill, a moment that fueled initial tensions.
Senator Amarilla subsequently launched a scathing online attack against Mbappe, which included racially charged comments. Mbappe swiftly condemned her remarks as “brazen racism,” prompting the French Football Federation (FFF) to announce plans for a lawsuit regarding Amarilla’s initial statements.
In response to Mbappe’s condemnation and the FFF’s legal threat, Amarilla posted an open letter on her official Instagram page, detailing her perspective and issuing her own demands. She explained that her initial post, which she later deleted, was “written in the heat of the moment, with my blood boiling,” and that she regretted “responding to you with the same insults that I myself receive.”
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However, Amarilla’s letter did not offer an apology to Mbappe. Instead, she accused him of arrogance and contempt towards Paraguayan players, citing pre-match comments attributed to him. “This has nothing to do with France. The problem is with you. Your arrogance and contempt angered me long before the match, when you said, ‘If we have to put our hands in the dirt, then let’s do it.’ We are not stupid. We understood perfectly that by ‘the dirt,’ you meant the Paraguayan team, and the Paraguayan team represents all of us,” Amarilla wrote, according to GiveMeSport.
Amarilla demands apology, threatens legal action
The Senator, who claims to ‘love’ France and studied at a French school for 15 years, also criticized Mbappe’s post-match conduct. She highlighted his refusal to shake hands with Gill and his celebration “shouting your victory in his face.” Amarilla stated, “In a single moment, you displayed contempt, arrogance, and poor manners. It hurt me, it hurt my entire country, and it hurt deeply.”
Amarilla, an elected Senator of the Paraguayan Nation, then turned her focus to Mbappe’s response to her initial comments. She demanded that Mbappe retract his statements and apologize to her, threatening legal action for gender-based violence. “Now I demand that you also retract your statements and apologize to me. I will not tolerate your violence either. You do not know me. You have no idea who I am, and you have no right to say that I AM A DESPICABLE WOMAN, UNWORTHY OF THE OFFICE I HOLD,” Amarilla wrote. “You insult me because I am a woman. You attack my dignity as a woman and as a political representative. Retract your statements, honour your French citizenship, and apologise. Otherwise, I may pursue legal action for gender based violence.”
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