FIFA’s chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak defends Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro after she was reportedly axed from the dugout by Jose Mourinho.
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It comes as Mourinho prepares to face the media today (Friday), at his weekly press conference, when he will be asked to explain why Carneiro and Fearn have been punished and are not expected to be on the bench for Sunday’s Premier League match away to Manchester City.
Mourinho had slammed Carneiro and Fearn publicly last Saturday for entering the pitch to treat Hazard late in the 2-2 draw with Swansea.
Chelsea were down to 10 men against Swansea following the dismissal of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and were briefly left with nine players as Hazard was obliged to leave the field after receiving treatment.
Yet Dvorak told Sky Sports that he fully backed the doctor’s actions.
Mourinho felt that Hazard had not been sufficiently injured to warrant treatment and said that although referee Michael Oliver had waved them on, Carneiro and Fearn’s actions showed that they did not “understand the game”.
Carneiro, born in Gibraltar to a Spanish father and English mother, joined Chelsea in February 2009 and was promoted to the role of first-team doctor and assistant medical director by Andre Villas-Boas, one of Mourinho’s predecessors, in 2011.
The Argentine striker may not be in their starting side after the striker played just the final 27 minutes against the Baggies last week, following his return from worldwide duty with Argentina.
“In medical aspects, the manager has nothing to say”, The Express quotes Dvorak as saying. With her position becoming more perilous, she may seek legal advice as the possibility of constructive dismissal increasing. I don’t want to interfere with the club as such, but I would endorse clearly what the team doctor and the physiotherapist did.
The pictures, used to piece together the sequence of events that led to Chelsea’s medical staff entering the pitch to treat the player, appears to support claims they were called on by the referee.
Everyone involved has to respect the fact the doctor is in charge. “Really very much appreciated”.
“It is hard to know the exact situation regarding the decisions made by Chelsea”.
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Chelsea are refusing to comment on the matter, with the club regarding it as an internal employment -issue.
