French prosecutors investigate racist abuse of Kylian Mbappé by Paraguayan senator

Kylian Mbappé scored the penalty that sent France into the World Cup quarter-finals in a bruising win over Paraguay. Photograph: Richard Sellers/APL/Sportsphoto View image in fullscreen Kylian Mbappé scored the penalty that sent France into the World Cup quarter-finals in a bruising win over Paraguay. Photograph: Richard Sellers/APL/Sportsphoto French prosecutors investigate racist abuse of Kylian Mbappé by Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla could face charges after French Football Federation complains about social media posts over World Cup match Prosecutors in France have opened an investigation into the racist attack on Kylian Mbappé by a Paraguayan senator, with officials weighing whether to demand that the senator be charged with aggravated public insult or incitement to hatred or violence. The Paris prosecutor’s office told the Guardian on Tuesday it had launched the inquiry after the French Football Federation (FFF) filed a complaint with the national unit for combating online hate. After Paraguay’s bruising loss to France at the World Cup on Saturday, Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical party, posted a torrent of racial abuse against Mbappé on social media. In remarks described by the FFF as “ utterly abhorrent and unacceptable ”, Amarilla mocked the France captain, whose penalty sent France into the quarter-finals. Amarilla described Mbappé as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to ⁠pass himself off as French” and as a “brute who had not learned to write”. Paraguay’s players should have ‌slapped him after the ‌match, she added. Mbappé responded soon after. “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 on social media. Her tirade was a distraction from the tremendous accomplishment of Paraguay at the World Cup , he added. “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.” View image in fullscreen Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla mocked Mbappé on social media in comments that the France captain called ‘brazen racism’. Photograph: Jorge Sáenz/AP In a statement on Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor’s office noted “the remarks were allegedly made because of the victim’s actual or perceived origin, ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion”. The offences were punishable by up to one year of imprisonment and a €45,000 ($51,000) fine, it added. As her racist attack made headlines around the world, Amarilla posted an open letter in French and Spanish to Mbappé on social media. She sought to lay blame with Mbappé for her remarks, citing her anger at his behaviour during the match and comments about France ditching their “tuxedos” to play “dirty fo