Africa Stands With Mbappé After Paraguay Senator's Racist Attack

Kylian Mbappé scored the penalty that knocked Paraguay out of the World Cup on July 4. What followed wasn't about the goal. Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla posted a string of racist remarks on X mocking Mbappé's Cameroonian roots, his upbringing and his appearance, calling him a "colonized Cameroonian" trying to pass as French, according to Al Jazeera. Mbappé fired back publicly, calling her "a despicable woman," and French prosecutors have since opened an investigation, per the Washington Post.

Now the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC-Africa, has weighed in. In a statement from General Secretary Akhator Joel Odigie, the body called Amarilla's comments "infantile, reckless and irresponsible" and said racism has no place in football or society, as reported by Vanguard.

That last part matters. This wasn't a federation or a football body speaking. It was a labour organisation, one that also used the moment to push for protection of migrant workers behind the scenes of the tournament, telling sports authorities and governments to hold accountable anyone who spreads hatred at major sporting events, Vanguard reported.

Mbappé doesn't play for an African nation. But his heritage put him in the middle of this, and ITUC-Africa made the point plainly: an attack on him is an attack on people who share that heritage, wherever they live. "Africa stands with you," the statement read, addressed directly to the player.

FIFA has also issued a statement calling itself "deeply disturbed" by the abuse, and the UN Human Rights Office has described the remarks as dehumanizing, according to CBC News. Whether any of that translates into consequences for Amarilla, who has since deleted the posts and issued an open letter of regret, remains to be seen.