Eva Carneiro's decision to take to Facebook in the wake of her public dressing-down by José Mourinho sealed her demotion at Chelsea, although the manager's unhappiness with aspects of her work is said to have been building prior to Saturday's flashpoint at the end of the Swansea City game at Stamford Bridge.
Carneiro ran on to the field, along with the club's head physiotherapist, Jon Fearn, in the third minute of stoppage time to treat Eden Hazard, who had gone down with an injury. Television footage has shown that the pair were beckoned on by the referee, Michael Oliver, and it looked as though they were merely fulfilling their duty of care as medical professionals.
Mourinho, though, was incensed. With Chelsea already down to 10 men after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’s red card and the game level at 2-2, he was worried his team might be vulnerable with only eight outfield players to a Swansea counter for the winning goal.
He gave vent to his anger afterwards, accusing his medical staff of not understanding the game, but his mood darkened further when he learned of Carneiro’s Facebook post on Sunday.
Carneiro had only previously made one post on her public page but she took to the social media platform to “thank the general public for their overwhelming support” in the wake of Mourinho’s rant.
The messages of support to which she referred, essentially, ran along the lines of people urging her to stay strong against Mourinho’s bullying. For her to acknowledge them, in such a public way, went down predictably badly with Mourinho.
He demands total loyalty and privacy from his inner circle and it has long been clear at Chelsea that members of the backroom staff are to be seen and not heard. Only Mourinho – or, sometimes, his assistants – the directors and players ever speak in public while the club has clear guidelines on the use of social media.
Employees can have Facebook and Twitter accounts but they must not, for example, post criticisms of the club or the game’s governing bodies. Carneiro’s Facebook post did not transgress the guidelines and yet it succeeded in crossing a line with Mourinho.
Key responsibilities
Carneiro was stripped of some of her key responsibilities on Tuesday, as the affair erupted into a lead news story, and she will no longer be on the sideline during training sessions and matches. She will not be at the team hotel, either.
Carneiro’s position feels untenable, despite the fact that she is well liked by the players.
Chelsea have described the situation as an “internal staffing matter” and, as such, they have no comment to make.
The reaction to Carneiro’s demotion has been strong, with the Premier League Doctors’ Group expressing concern that Mourinho’s actions showed that he considers results to be more important than the welfare of players.
“It is a huge concern that Dr Carneiro has been subjected to unprecedented media scrutiny and a change in her professional role, merely because she adhered to her code of professional conduct and did her job properly.” – Guardian Service
