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\n

Remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla shocked France \u2014 and much of the world \u2014 earlier this week after she branded Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/a> a “brute,” mocked his intelligence and questioned his French identity.<\/p>\n

Days later, the fallout has spiraled from international condemnation to criminal investigations and extraordinary South American threats to extradite the France captain.<\/p>\n

Amarilla’s comments landed against an already charged backdrop after France’s World Cup tense knockout victory over Paraguay. Hours after the match, revelers at Paraguay’s annual San Juan Ara festival burned an effigy<\/a> labeled “Kylian Mbapp\u00e9.” But once the senator’s remarks sparked international outrage, Paraguay’s government moved to distance itself<\/a> Monday, calling them “contrary to the values and principles” of the country and insisting they reflected neither the government’s views nor those of the Paraguayan people.<\/p>\n

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said<\/a> in an Instagram story on the same day that he “unequivocally condemned” the abuse, adding: “All of football and society stand in solidarity with the France captain \u2014 we need to fight racism and defeat it all together.”<\/p>\n

France hit back<\/a> just as forcefully. Mbapp\u00e9 accused Amarilla of being a “despicable woman” unworthy of office, while the French Football Federation announced it would take the case up with prosecutors. By Tuesday, French prosecutors had opened an investigation<\/a> into alleged racist abuse following the complaint from the FFF, citing an offense punishable by up to one year in prison and a \u20ac45,000 fine.<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron weighed in<\/a> on X the same day: “Another goal for Kylian Mbapp\u00e9. Against racism this time.”<\/p>\n

Amarilla, meanwhile, responded with a lengthy open letter<\/a> on Tuesday in French and Spanish after deleting some of her original posts. While saying she regretted insulting Mbapp\u00e9 “with the same insults” she had herself endured as a mixed-race woman, she spent much of the letter demanding that the France captain apologize to her, accusing him of insulting her and threatening legal action if he refused.<\/p>\n

Hours later, speaking to reporters, she struck a different tone<\/a> acknowledging that her posts “were racist” and “unfortunate.” But she again stopped short of apologizing. “I’m trying to build a different Celeste Amarilla,” she said, blaming the attitudes she grew up with. “Have patience. I’m trying.”<\/p>\n

The condemnation only widened. Paraguay’s Senate on Wednesday formally rejected<\/a> Amarilla’s remarks, saying they did not represent the chamber. The U.N. human rights office warned<\/a> that “language that dehumanizes people because of their race or ethnic origin has no place in sport or public discourse,” while World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the episode “a disgrace,” adding that \u201cracism is not a joke, a personality trait, or an excuse rooted in \u2018where I come from.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The saga may not be over just yet. Speaking to ABC Cardinal on Tuesday, Amarilla said she was considering suing Mbapp\u00e9<\/a>, arguing that his response constituted “gender violence” and “political violence.”<\/p>\n

The following day, her lawyer, Guillermo Duarte Cacavelos, told the broadcaster they would meet to discuss the case and that no decision had yet been made. But he also laid out an expansive legal argument, claiming Mbapp\u00e9’s description of Amarilla as a “despicable woman” could amount to criminal defamation in Paraguay because the comments had legal effects there \u2014 and suggesting the France captain could ultimately even face extradition to stand trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla shocked France \u2014 and much of the world \u2014 earlier this week after she branded Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 a “brute,” mocked his intelligence and questioned his French identity. Days later, the fallout has spiraled from international condemnation to criminal investigations and extraordinary South American threats to extradite the France captain. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25594\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}