Tite has revealed that Atletico Madrid’s Renan Lodi hasn’t been selected by the Brazilian national team for their upcoming fixtures against Ecuador and Paraguay because he’s not vaccinated.
“Renan Lodi lost the opportunity to compete with Brazil because he’s not vaccinated,” Tite said in comments carried by Marca when announcing the squad he’d selected.
The announcement is very much in keeping with Tite’s attitude throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, where he’s taken a very different stance to Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
But it’s drawn a lot of attention to Lodi, who’s set to take part in Atletico’s Supercopa de Espana semi-final against Athletic Club in Saudi Arabia later this evening. It’s thought, however, that he’ll still be selected by his coach Diego Simeone.
Tite’s decision to make Lodi’s vaccination status public hasn’t gone down well at Atletico. They’ve closed ranks around him in response and have maintained their focus is purely on Athletic.
Brazil have already qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They’re currently first in CONMEBOL qualifying, six points clear of second-placed Argentina and 12 clear of third-placed Ecuador.
