Brazil coach Tite has lashed out at rumours that suggested he played an injured Gabriel Jesus against Cameroon.
The Arsenal striker has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament after suffering a knee injury in Brazil’s 1-0 loss against Cameroon on Friday.
This was Jesus’s first start of the tournament and looked fine in the opening half. But 20 minutes into the second half, the Arsenal striker was substituted for what was assumed tactical reasons.
It was revealed after the game that Jesus had injured his knee and would be unable to play for the rest of the tournament.
After the news broke, rumours began to circulate claiming that the striker was injured going into the game and that the Brazil manager had decided to play him, anyway.
When asked about the rumours, Tite claimed that they are ‘evil lies.
‘That’s a very good question because I don’t like hearing lies out there, evil lies.
‘At no time, whatsoever, do we play for a victory at the risk or peril of a player.
‘So the liar who’s out there, because that’s the name isn’t it? The haters, right? They keep giving hate, it gives them an opportunity, go and do something else and stop giving fake news.
‘Arsenal have a great medical department, we have a great medical department, we are responsible, we are personally responsible, we are ethical, it would never have happened.
Either way, Brazil will now have to rely on Richarlison to lead the line for the rest of the World Cup. Starting in tomorrow’s Round of 16 games against South Korea.