We’re one game into the new Premier League season and the big talking point concerns a member of one club’s medical staff. Welcome to football in 2015.
Jose Mourinho accused Chelsea first-team doctor Eva Carneiro and Head Physio John Fearn of being “impulsive and naive” and of “failing to understand the game” when they ran onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard in the dying moments of Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Swansea.
Premier League rules state that if a player receives medical attention on the pitch, he must then leave the field until summoned back on by the referee. Mourinho was riled that the actions of Carneiro and Fearn meant his side were down to just eight outfield players at a crucial time.
Carneiro was subsequently demoted from matchday duties, sparking a degree of outrage in the football world. Mourinho is often said to get an easy ride from the the British media, but even they were rounding on the Portuguese coach.
However, many feel that Carneiro’s biggest (and perhaps only) error was not to run on the pitch to treat Hazard, but to post a message on Facebook thanking people for their ‘overwhelming’ support:
This theory was subsequently backed up by a report in the Guardian by David Hytner which claimed that this was the real reason she was relegated from the bench to a physio room at Cobham.
Now a new theory has emerged, courtesy of Duncan Castles, a journalist who can divide opinion but who certainly has close links to Chelsea.
Castles reports that Mourinho has been considering ditching Carneiro for over a year because, basically, the lads in the dressing room don’t want a woman around.
“While there is no question about her professional abilities, the Portuguese coach was concerned that the dressing room dynamic was affected by the presence of a female.
“According to a source, some players had expressed misgivings to the coaching staff about the set-up, arguing that it forced them to alter their usual behaviour in a team environment.”
So if there is some truth in this, Carneiro’s demotion is not because she ran on the pitch. Nor is it because of her Facebook post.
It’s because she is a woman.
Not a great look for Chelsea.
