Racism row erupts after Paraguayan senator calls Mbappe 'ugly, colonised Cameroonian'

Racism has again stained the "beautiful game", with a Paraguayan senator, Celeste Amarilla, triggering international outrage - including condemnation from her own government - after launching a racist tirade against French star striker Kylian Mbappe.

French President Emmanuel Macron swiftly came to Mbappe's (above, left) defence. The France captain had scored the match-winning penalty that eliminated Paraguay from the World Cup in a tense, ill-tempered encounter.

“The president of the republic stands with Mbappe and the French team in the face of the racist attacks directed at the Bleus’ captain,” the Elysee Palace said, according to news reports.

The French Football Federation (FFF) said it intends to file criminal charges.

“These remarks are criminal and reprehensible. They must be prosecuted here as elsewhere. The FFF is reporting the matter to the public prosecutor’s office ‌with a view to legal proceedings,” it said in a statement.

The International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) president Gianni Infantino also condemned Amarilla.

“All of football and society stand in solidarity with the France captain - we need to fight racism and defeat it all together,” Infantino wrote in a statement on Instagram.

According to AFP, Paraguay's government distanced itself from the opposition senator, a member of the country's main opposition Liberal Party.

“The remarks made by Amarilla, directed at the captain of the French national team, Mbappe, are contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity, which our country promotes,” Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Lengthy rant on X

In a lengthy rant on X, Amarilla described Mbappe as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to ⁠pass himself off as French”, an "ugly" man and a “brute who had not learned to write”, among other insults.

She also said Paraguay's players should have slapped him after the match.

Mbappe fired back, branding Amarilla a “despicable woman”.

“Madame Celeste Amarilla, 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,” he wrote.

“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,“ he added.

SNAPSHOT | Student injured in school stabbing; raid on World Cup betting centre nets 34

Dutch players who missed penalties suffer racial abuse, FA to act

World Cup: Beer flows, hot dogs vanish, Iran fumes, bookies busted in Penang