Paraguayan senator demands apology from Kylian Mbappé for his response to her racist posts
France’s Kylian Mbappé scores from the penalty spot for the only goal of his team’s 1-0 World Cup victory against Paraguay on Saturday in Philadelphia.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
A Paraguayan senator has deleted social media posts that included racist remarks about French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé that led to Paris prosecutors opening an investigation into possible aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred or violence.
Celeste Amarilla, a 61-year-old senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, indicated in an open letter to Mbappé on Monday that she regretted the comments she posted following Paraguay’s 1-0 loss to France in a World Cup knockout game on Saturday.
In the same letter, however, Amarilla threatened to take legal action if Mbappé did not retract and apologize for comments he made in response to one of her posts.
World Cup quarterfinals schedule: Start times for every match and how to watch
Norway’s Erling Haaland celebrates after a win over Brazil at the World Cup on July 5. Norway faces England in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
(Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals are set to begin Thursday when Kylian Mbappé and France take on an upset-minded Morocco team.
World Cup co-hosts U.S., Canada and Mexico will be watching from the sideline after being eliminated in the round of 16.
Here’s everything you need to know about the World Cup matches being played Thursday, Friday and Saturday across the U.S., Mexico and Canada (all times Pacific).
Looking back at the first 27 days of the World Cup
The first 27 days of the 2026 FIFA World Cup offered plenty of memorable moments.
Check out The Times’ daily recaps ahead of Thursday’s quarterfinal match between France and Morocco.
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