AS THE FALL-OUT continues from Jose Mourinho’s explosive clash with his medical staff, many are wondering what the root cause of his anger was.
And with club doctor Eva Carneiro set to be demoted because of the incident last weekend, there could be a dangerous reason behind it all.
The Chelsea manager raged at both club doctor Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn after they raced onto the field with 90 seconds left of the Premier League game against Swansea to tend to an injured Eden Hazard.
Mourinho explained afterwards that his furious reaction came about because his side were already down to ten men after Thibaut Courtois’ red card and that by receiving treatment, the Belgian was forced to leave the field – leaving Chelsea with just eight outfield players to defend a Swansea counter-attack.
“I wasn’t very happy with my medical staff because you have to understand the game,” said Mourinho post-game.
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They were impulsive and naive. Whether you are a kit man, doctor or secretary on the bench you have to understand the game. ”
But others disagree. The Premier League Doctors’ Group said on Wednesday that “a refusal to run on to the pitch would have breached the duty of care required of the medical team to their patient”.
Carneiro posted a message to her Facebook page following the incident, thanking people for their kind messages of support. But, immediately afterward, stories began to circulate that the 41-year-old is set for a diminished role at Stamford Bridge with Mourinho furious at how Carneiro had undermined him on social media. It’s expected that she won’t attend any further training sessions, matches or enter the team hotel though she will retain the title of first-team doctor.
But, latest reports suggest Mourinho has been keen to change Carneiro’s role for a while.
Writing for One World Sports, football journalist Duncan Castles says that according to a source, some Chelsea players had took issue with Carneiro’s presence in the dressing-room, telling Mourinho they were being forced to change their usual behaviour.
Worried that Carneiro may be inadvertently affecting how his players feel, Mourinho has used the incident from last weekend as a way of solving the problem.
But, he may only have succeeded in making it worse.
