New Delhi: A big blow has come to Premier League giants Chelsea who have parted ways with team doctor Eva Carneiro. The English champions are now bracing themselves for what could prove to be an expensive legal battle.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, the now former Chelsea first team doctor was ordered to return to work last Friday But Carneiro did not show up. Further reports suggest that she had still not been seen there, and it has been suggested that she has in fact departed the club.
A return to work would have been her first appearance at the club's Cobham training ground since an incident during the Premier League encounter with Swansea City on August 8.
Back in August, Carneiro was stripped of her duties after Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accused her of making a mistake when she and team physiotherapist Jon Fearn rushed on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard, having twice been waved on by referee Michael Oliver. Carneiro was then banned from the bench and the team hotel as part of her punishment.
According to a report in the Sportsmail, Chelsea are aware that the Gibraltar-born medic is consulting top employment lawyers.
An enquiry is being run by the Football Association, on Mourinho's explosive reaction at the time. According to a report last week by the Sportsmail, this issue has come up after a member of the public made a complaint, claiming that the former Real Madrid manager had shouted 'filha da puta'. In English terms it means daughter of a whore and, if proven, could lead to Mourinho being banned for five matches.
FA officials said on Monday the video evidence that was submitted as part of the complaint was still being reviewed.
Meanwhile, Carneiro was subjected to severe public criticism by Mourinho after the game as well. In a post-match interview he had accused his medical staff of being naive and not understanding the game, even though Carneiro had been Chelsea's first team doctor for five years.
The treatment was later met with widespread disapproval by the Carneiro's peers in the medical profession as well as the football authorities. The chief medical officer at FIFA was among those to remind Mourinho that the welfare of players remains the responsibility of medical staff and not the manager.
