By Andrew Warshaw
September 9 – If Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho thought his treatment of the club’s female head doctor on the opening day of the Premier League season would die down, he is mistaken.
After Chelsea got their season under way with 2-2 draw against Swansea, Mourinho took a swipe at his own medical staff, led by Eva Carneiro, describing them as “impulsive and naive” for treating Belgian midfield star Eden Hazard in stoppage time with Chelsea already down to 10 men following the sending-off of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn were subsequently dropped from Chelsea’s bench on matchdays and their roles downgraded, causing a storm of protest.
Now a leading medical barrister and adviser to the England’s Football Medical Association says she expects FIFA to support the role of medical staff in treating players when its medical committee meets on Friday – and believes the pair should be given their old roles back.
”I personally believe, as a football supporter and as someone who supports
medics in sport, the best outcome in this case would be for her (Carneiro) and Jon Fearn to be back on the bench sending the message out to the football world they did nothing wrong,” said Mary O’Rourke, QC.
”I think you will find FIFA on Friday saying the same thing that they did
nothing wrong because their duty was to the player as their patient, the
referee, the FA and actually their job in the club is to look after the players not to run the team and not to be tactically aware.”
O’Rourke says that rather make a public apology, Mourinho and Chelsea could just re-instate those involved with a minimum of fuss.
”No-one wants to hang anyone out to dry here. If you start making someone do public apologies or losing face that can impact on a future working relationship and surely what Chelsea and other football medics would want would be to patch it up.”
O’Rourke described as “disappointing” the fact that the English FA has so far stayed silent and is also alarmed by Mourinho’s post-match comments when he said that “even if you are a medical doctor or secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game”.
O’Rourke suggested many might deem such remarks as sexist.
“Everyone listening to that, I think, would have taken that to mean a comment that women don’t know anything about football. What message are you sending out when you say: ‘Women don’t know anything about football’?
“In today’s age, that shouldn’t be happening. If you put that statement out to 100 people, I think 99 per cent would interpret that [as being disrespectful] of women supporters or women having a knowledge about football.”
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