Eva Carneiro: Chelsea told club doctor would not have quit had Jose Mourinho apologised as legal battle looms

Rebuked: Eva Carneiro has left the club after being publicly criticised by Jose Mourinho
Simon Johnson23 September 2015

Chelsea have been told that club doctor Eva Carneiro would not have quit her job if manager Jose Mourinho had made a simple apology.

Carneiro is now set to take legal action after being effectively demoted since the draw against Swansea on the opening day of the season.

Mourinho criticised her, as well as head physio Jon Fearn, during and after the game for treating Eden Hazard on the pitch.

It meant his side were temporarily reduced to nine men as Thibaut Courtois had already been sent off and Hazard had to leave the pitch due to rules put in place to protect against time wasting.

The Chelsea boss accused the medical duo of being 'impulsive and naive' and both were told they would not be required at matches for the time being.

While Fearn has continued to work for the club, Carneiro has not been seen at the training ground ever since and has decided to leave her role altogether.

Anna Kessel, co-founder and chair of Women in football, has backed her decision to quit and feels the negative press the incident has caused is trouble all of Mourinho's own making.

The organisation have been offering Carneiro support and speaking to BBC Five Live, Kessel said: "Doctor Carneiro did nothing wrong. She should have been straight back at work, with an apology from Mourinho and the whole thing would have blown over very quickly.

"It's quite obvious (why she made this decision to leave). Doctor Carneiro fulfilled her duties that day. Had she followed Mourinho's advice and not treated Eden Hazard, she would have been in breach of general medical guidelines. She did the right thing.

"She was subsequently demoted by the club and her position became untenable. How many of us could go back to a lesser job with hugely reduced duties having done nothing wrong and with no apology from the club, no retraction or acknowledgement that a huge error had been made by Mr Mourinho?

"Anyone in her situation would take legal advice when given a demotion through no apparent mistake."

It is believed one of the factors in Carneiro's role being reduced was because she wrote on Facebook after the incident, thanking people for all the messages of support she had received.

Most of those comments were critical of Mourinho, so her response could have been deemed as endorsing those remarks made against the Chelsea boss.

In Mourinho's next press conference, the Portuguese made a point to say neither Carneiro or Fearn had been banned from the dug-out indefinitely.

Kessel says the whole incident has taken a toll on Carneiro and added: "Doctor Carneiro has always kept a very low profile, she is extremely professional.

"I don't think she's enjoying this process at all. She has been hounded by the paparazzi. It's been very unfair the level of exposure that she has come across.

"It has been unclear (if Carneiro would be reinstalled in original position). Chelsea haven't put out a statement explaining what the future of Doctor Carneiro's career was meant to be and I think that's part of the problem.

"I think there are additional layers to the fact she is a woman, she has had salacious stories written about her and was the subject of a lot of sexist abuse from opposition fans last season.

"So it is now disappointing that Chelsea are not backing their own employee when they defended her last season.

"We very much hope she has a future in the game and that is our concern. She is one of the senior women working in the game, she is a huge role model and receives many letters from girls and women who want to be like her and be a doctor.

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"This has sent out a very disappointing and alienating message to women who would like to work in the industry - that even if you don't make a mistake, your life can be completely ripped apart by a few ill-thought out comments."

The nature of Mourinho's rant on the touchline is still the subject of an investigation from the FA, although Standard Sport understands it is unlikely he will be charged.

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