Chelsea have sidelined team doctor Eva Carneiro from match-day duties after she fell foul of manager Jose Mourinho, according to British media reports on Tuesday.
Mourinho criticised Carneiro after she ran on the pitch to treat Eden Hazard in stoppage time of Chelsea’s 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City on Saturday, saying she did not “understand the game”.
After receiving support from fans, Carneiro wrote on her Facebook page: “I would like to thank the general public for their overwhelming support. Really very much appreciated.”
The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail said that while Carneiro would continue in her role as first-team doctor, she would no longer attend games or training sessions or enter the team hotel.
Mourinho felt that Carneiro had been wrong to go to Hazard’s aid as his side pushed for a winner against Swansea at Stamford Bridge.
“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,” he told reporters after the match.
“If you go 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 outfield players in a counter-attack after a set-piece and we were worried we didn’t have enough players left.”
Carneiro 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 Telegraph and the Mail said her role had been changed as part of a shake-up of back-room staff by Mourinho. –Â Agence France-Presse
