Chelsea FC Boss Jose Mourinho Accused Of Sexism
Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho has been accused of sexism with regard to the Eva Carneiro affair
According to a top sports lawyer and advisor to the Football Medical Association, Jose Mourinho’s criticism of club doctor Eva Carneiro could be deemed sexist in court. Mary O’Rourke, a barrister who has been involved in landmark cases involving medics in football and rugby, has claimed that Mourinho’s attack on Carneiro may have offended women.
The Chelsea manager blasted his head doctor after she rushed onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard for an injury that didn’t seem serious in the club’s opening game of the season. With Hazard receiving treatment, Chelsea were left with just 9 players on the pitch after goalkeeper Courtois was sent off earlier in the match and the Blues were in danger of falling behind against Swansea.
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Since then, Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn have been axed from the bench by Mourinho, after the manager questioned Carneiro’s knowledge of the game in particular.
"Even if you are a kit man, doctor or secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game."
It was this quote that has landed the Chelsea boss in trouble, with O’Rourke suggesting that Mourinho was commenting on women’s knowledge of the game as a whole:
"Everyone listening to that, I think, would have taken that to mean a comment that women don’t know anything about football."
Speaking at the Soccerex Global Convention, she went on to say:
"If you put that statement out to 100 people, I think 99 per cent would interpret that [as being disrespectful] of women supporters or women having a knowledge about football."
Since being dismissed by Mourinho, the Chelsea physio is understood to have consulted lawyers and is thinking about taking action against her boss.
From a football perspective, more controversy surrounding incidents off the pitch is the last thing Mourinho wants after his team have made a disappointing start to their title defense. The international break provided an opportunity to fix the situation, but it looks as if it’s far from over.
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Mourinho will want to have his team fully focused over the next few weeks, as Chelsea travel to Everton on Saturday, before beginning their Champions League campaign against Maccabi Tel Aviv and hosting Arsenal the following weekend.
The meeting with Everton has become a must-win game for the Blues given that the club are already eight points behind league leaders Manchester City. There will be also be an interesting subplot involving John Stones, Roberto Martinez and Mourinho himself.
Furthermore, these accusations mean that there will be yet another topic that the boss will have to address in his press conferences.
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