She
has become one of the most recognisable faces on Premier League benches,
the woman doctor who Chelsea have relied upon to treat their injured
players.
But
in the space of only four days, Eva Carneiro's relationship with Jose
Mourinho has deteriorated so badly that we may not see her again.
On
Saturday, Carneiro and her colleague Jon Fearn angered the Chelsea
manager by rushing on to the pitch to tend to Eden Hazard near the end
of the 2-2 draw with Swansea.
Eva Carneiro received the brunt of Jose Mourinho's criticism after rushing on to treat Eden Hazard's injury
Carneiro and Mourinho exchange words on the touchline during Chelsea's draw with Swansea City
Carneiro will now be axed from the
Chelsea dugout by Mourinho following the incident where the Blues boss
accused his medical team of being naive and leaving his team in a weaker
position on the field
Chelsea
were already down to 10 men and Hazard receiving treatment meant that
last season's Player of the Year had to spend a few moments on the
touchline, leaving the champions vulnerable. Mourinho was furious.
'I
wasn't happy with my medical staff because even if you are a medical
doctor or secretary on the bench you have to understand the game,' said
Mourinho.
'You
have to know that when you have one player less and, in the end, you go
on to the pitch to assist a player then you must be sure that a player
has a serious problem.
'I was sure that Eden didn't have a serious problem. He had a knock and was very tired.
'My
medical department left me with eight fit players in a counter-attack
after a set piece and we were worried we didn't have enough players
left.'
Carneiro
was hurt by that and Chelsea fans rushed to send her messages of
support. On Monday she posted on Facebook: 'I would like to thank the
general public for their overwhelming support. Really very much
appreciated.'
But
instead of patching things up with her, Mourinho took more drastic
action. The 41-year-old, who was born in Gibraltar, will keep her job
title as first-team doctor but she will not be allowed at training
sessions, matches or the team hotel.
That
surely puts her future at the club in doubt. Fearn is likely to receive
the same treatment but a late decision will be made on him as the club
need a physio on the bench for Sunday's crucial match at Manchester
City.
The Portuguese tactician runs down the touchline in order to vent his frustration at his medical team
Chelsea boss Mourinho gesticulates in anger towards his medical team during his side's 2-2 draw
Mourinho claims he knew star playmaker Eden Hazard did not require treatment as he was just tired
Carneiro made one of her first posts on Facebook, having previously been almost silent across social media
The Chelsea doctor tends to be private but she posted on Facebook to thank those backing her judgement
Carneiro
was promoted to her role with the Chelsea first team by Andre
Villas-Boas in 2011 and has since worked with Roberto di Matteo, Rafa
Benitez and now Mourinho.
Born to a Spanish father and British mother, she has studied at Nottingham University and Queen Mary University of London.
Carneiro
spent time with West Ham before being appointed to the UK Sports and
Medicine Specialist training program with the Olympic Medical Institute
preparing athletes for the 2008 Olympic Games.
She spent some time working for the England women’s football team before joining Chelsea in 2009.
Sportsmail understands Mourinho’s decision has raised a few eyebrows at the club.
Players
were said to be ‘completely shocked’ at the news of the doctor’s
demotion, although they knew something was wrong as Mourinho had not
been his usual jovial self, even with his favourite players.
It is also believed that not all members of the club’s hierarchy share Mourinho’s opinion that Carneiro was in the wrong.
Carneiro follows first-team physiotherapist Jon Fearn on to the Stamford Bridge pitch, rushing past Mourinho
Chelsea's doctor enters the field after Eden Hazard ended up on the ground following a poor challenge
The Chelsea boss leaps into a furious rage which brings him on to the pitch after the pair attend to Hazard
Mourinho makes his unhappiness clear, shouting on to the pitch to address his medical staff members
Carneiro looks on as Eden hazard is helped back to his feet during the 2-2 draw with Swansea City
It remains to be seen whether feeling is strong enough to reverse the decision, although that would surely anger Mourinho.
He
has made a number of changes to working practices for his backroom team
since returning from pre-season and there are likely to be more.
The adjustment to Carneiro’s role is said to be part of those changes.
Fearn,
who was given a private dressing down by Mourinho on Saturday, will
also see his role altered as part of the manager’s changes.
However, the adjustments in Fearn’s responsibilities are yet to be confirmed.
Chelsea’s medical director Paco Biosca will continue to head the department.
Academy
doctors Julian Redhead, Chris Hughes or David Porter may be promoted
into the senior set-up to take over Carneiro’s previous match
responsibilities.
A Chelsea spokesman would not comment on Carneiro’s role or future on Tuesday night.
Carneiro
has been the target of sexist abuse from rival fans on occasion during
her time at Chelsea and the club publicly supported her with a statement
condemning the behaviour.
And
in a speech made during a conference in Sweden last season, Carneiro
said: ‘In every (medical) television programme I have ever watched in my
life, the female doctor is hyper-sexualised.
‘She goes off with Tom Cruise and it is all happy endings. Or she is not present. Or she is a lesbian.
‘This is the perception young girls grow up with of what a female doctor is. This needs to change.
‘There
need to be ass-kicking women who are not behaving like men, who do a
really good job and save the day. That is not going off with Tom Cruise!
‘I think women are discouraged from a young age.’
Meanwhile,
Chelsea will be without Thibaut Courtois after an appeal against his
red card in the clash against Swansea was rejected.
Carneiro, who joined the club in 2009, speaks to Chelsea playmaker Oscar and one of her colleagues
Mourinho sits on the bench alongside his staff, while Carneiro (far right) keeps her eyes fixed on the game
Carneiro (left, pictured with former goalkeeper Petr Cech) joined Chelsea's medical team set up in 2009
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