The Unseemly Rhetoric of a World Cup's Shadow The World Cup's bright lights and triumphant anthems often cast a shadow over international football, where racism, xenophobia, and nationalist fervour simmer just beneath the surface.
Last weekend's match between France and Paraguay in Philadelphia was no exception.
Celeste Amarilla, a Paraguayan senator with a penchant for bigoted rhetoric, heaped racist abuse on Kylian Mbappé, calling him a "colonised Cameroonian" who had "pretended to be French.