The Football Association announced yesterday that no action would be taken against Chelsea FC manager Jos Mourinho over the controversial incident involving his medical team on the opening day of the Premier League season
Jos Mourinho does not have too many things going his way at the moment, but there was some positive news for the Portuguese as he escaped punishment from the FA for his touchline rant on the opening day of the Premier League season against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.
The 52-year-old was incensed with his medical team — comprising Eva Carneiro and Joe Fearn — for entering the field of play in the dyning stages of the game to treat Belgian Eden Hazard, meaning the attacker would have to come off the pitch, leaving Chelsea FC with fewer outfield players to defend against a potential Swansea counter-attack.
FA release statement clearing Mourinho
The FA received a complaint from a member of the public regarding Chelsea FC manager Jos Mourinho’s choice of words during his outburst, as well as evidence from the ‘Women in Football’ organisation in the form of video footage and a letter, which included testimony from Portuguese language experts claiming Mourinho directed his abuse specifically at Eva Carneiro.
The FA statement read (via Sky Sports):
“Following information brought to the attention of the FA regarding Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and alleged discriminatory comments made in the Premier League fixture between Swansea and Chelsea on 8 August, The FA has now concluded an investigation into the matter.
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“The matter was brought to the attention of the FA on 8 September and led to the appointment of an independent academic expert in Portuguese linguistics to analyse the footage of the incident which included the audio recording.
“After receiving the report from the expert, the FA is satisfied that the words used do not constitute discriminatory language under FA Rules.
“Furthermore, both the words used, as translated and analysed by the independent expert, and the video evidence, do not support the conclusion that the words were directed at any person in particular. Consequently, on the evidence available to it, the FA will take no further action in relation to this matter.”
Eva Carneiro departure leaves a sour taste
Although Mourinho has been cleared by the FA of any wrongdoing, the departure of Dr. Eva Carneiro was the least favourable outcome for all involved. Chelsea FC lose a talented professional who is at the top of her field, while Dr. Carneiro loses — at least temporarily — the opportunity to work at one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
One gets the feeling that the situation could quite easily have been nipped in the bud had Mourinho shown something resembling remorse at his press-conference preceding the Manchester City game, even if he did feel he was in the right. Quite simply, the Portuguese lost his cool and behaved in a manner that was unbecoming of a professional football manager on the touchline.
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I would like to thank the general public for their overwhelming support. Really very much appreciated.
Posted by Eva Carneiro on Sunday, 9 August 2015
At the same time, Dr. Carneiro’s decision to thank her fans for messages of support via her Facebook account clearly did not go down too well with the Chelsea FC hierarchy. The post could have been construed as an attempt to gain sympathy or play the martyr as it were, and even if it was innocuous enough, the Gibraltar-born doctor would have been better served by not posting it altogether.
Fellow medic Joe Fearn has now returned to the Chelsea FC bench after spending some time working at the club’s Cobham training base. Unfortunately, it appears the relationship between Dr. Carneiro and the club deteriorated enough for her to choose to part ways with the club.