Jose Mourinho's axing of Eva Carneiro is an embarrassing attempt at diversion

Eva Carneiro joined Chelsea in 2009

THE news emerged from Cobham almost like a sick corruption of a familiar joke: Doctor, doctor, it’s curtains for your career at Chelsea. Well, pull yourself together, Jose Mourinho!

 

There is certainly nothing funny about the Blues manager’s latest attempt to dictate the news agenda by offering up a side-narrative to protect his players and methods from scrutiny.

Chelsea’s first team doctor Eva Carneiro is a hard-working, dedicated professional. A trend-setter and role model for many women who want to play a role in modern football but already find a buffer of impenetrable male-chauvinism too often in their paths.

In a rare speech at an event arranged by the Swedish FA, she once said: “Women want to be leaders, we just put them off as we go along. This needs to change. Women are discouraged at a young age.

“Ninety per cent of the mail I receive is from young women wanting to perform the same role. We need to tell them it’s possible and that their presence will improve results.”

 

Jose Mourinho was furious with Eva Carneiro

Born in Gibraltar to a Spanish father and English mother, Carneiro studied medicine at Nottingham University and has worked at the sharp end of accident and emergency medicine as well as in her preferred field of sports therapy.

Her education was garnered in England, Scotland and Australia and, before arriving at Chelsea, she worked with Hope Powell’s England team in the build up to Beijing. A whole wealth of experience to consign to pen-pushing in Cobham.

Similarly, head physio Jon Fearn has earned his stripes the hard way – four years at West Ham followed by eight at Reading before he was recruited by Carlo Ancelotti in 2010.

From the outside, such dishonourable redeployment seems a big price to pay for what seems an understandable spur-of-the-moment judgment call.

Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy offers a different view, however, of events at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, when the pair ran on to treat Eden Hazard for a minor injury which nevertheless meant he had to wait on the sidelines for the referee, temporarily reducing Chelsea to nine men.

 

“These little things are always on Jose’s radar,” said Cundy. “It is what makes him the manager that he is. He would have thought about just such a scenario – he leaves no stone unturned.

“And if he has thought about it, there is every chance he has spoken to his medical staff about it previously. If he had told every physio and doctor to check with him before running on the pitch… That is simply something we cannot know.”

Another matter for the debate that is now taking place. Rather than a debate into whether two like-for-like swaps – Asmir Begovic for Petr Cech, Radamel Falcao for Didier Drogba – are enough to regain the Premier League when Chelsea’s close rivals in Manchester are reinvesting so heavily.

Those more team-centred thoughts, certainly alongside other concerns, are furrowing the brow of Mourinho deeper than communication breakdowns with his medical staff.

This time last year he was more happy-go-lucky: he knew in his heart of happy hearts that he had the wherewithal to bring yet another championship success to Stamford Bridge.

 

It was echoed by his giddy delight after Chelsea beat West Ham at Upton Park and Mourinho had decided that they had done enough to coast to the line.

In between, though, when pressure was on to deliver on the expectation, the diversionary tactics were back again in the form of a carefully minuted – in the case of the Burnley game – “campaign” that was being waged against Chelsea.

Normally they are aimed at referees – although occasionally Sky pundits can suffer the odd barb – the persecution of Andres Frisk in particular had UEFA describing the Portuguese as “the enemy of football”.

It is bad enough that domestic referees just have to shrug it all off to a greater or lesser degree and try not to let it affect their judgment in what is already a difficult job – at least there are professional support mechanisms in place.

But under such flimsy circumstances, on what looks from the outside like little more than a reactionary whim, it is a very bad apple who keeps the doctor away.