Football coach criticizes team doctor for treating injured player! Medical groups support doctor
English Premier League (EPL) football team Chelsea’s coach Jose Mourinho has reduced the duties of team doctors Dr. Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn (Physiotherapist) to that of mere spectators prior to Chelsea’s Sunday game. The doctor and physio are being punished for tending to one of Chelsea’s player’s Eden Hazard when he went down with an injury for a third time during a game this past Tuesday. The Premier League Doctor’s Group have come out in full support of the medical staff,criticizing the coach’s ‘unjust’ and excessive action.
Chelsea’s manager Mourinho has received wide-ranging criticism from a number of medical groups, professionals and the Professional Footballers’ Association, but the club is unlikely to alter any staff decisions due to outside pressure. Both Carneiro and Fern are not expected to be tending on field for Chelsea’s Sunday’s game. Additionally, Dr. Carneiro will keep her club doctor title but restricted from interacting with the team at training sessions, games or enter the team hotel. The coach even went as far as saying that the medical team “didn’t understand the game”, after they ran on to the field to treat the player.
Video footage, however, shows that the team’s action wasn’t prompted on a whim but because the match referee asked them to come on and give treatment to the player. The players on the team feel Caneiro is being punished because of her public rant on Facebook that read, “I would like to thank the general public for their overwhelming support. Really very much appreciated.”
Led by chairman Mark Gillett (Director of Performance) at West Bromwich Albion (another football club), the Premier League Doctors’ Group released a statement that expressed ‘concern’ that Mourinho’s actions put out a message that results are more important than the wellbeing of players.The statement also conveyed points that a doctor working in a sports league such as the EPL is bound by the same guidelines of good medical practice and duties as any other doctor practicing in the United Kingdom. These guidlines are to be practiced to – retain their license and satisfy the criteria for renewal every 5 years. The doctor’s group has recognized that the match referee’s summoning of the medical team had to be
Dr. Carneiro was merely following her duty as a doctor and tending to a player just as she would to a patient. The unecessary criticism is uncalled for especially how critical medical professionals are to the sports field. Teams across the EPL and other sports leagues thrive on a good medical staff who work tirelessly. They are the lifeblood that keep talented players and athletes performing at the highest level while reducing frequency of injuries.Carneiro and Fearn have also received support from the Football Medical Association, who released a statement saying: “If a player sustains or appears to sustain an injury and indicates that he needs assistance it is the duty of the referee to permit medical assessment and evaluation to be provided.
A pole on the Telegraph UK article showing support for Carneiro
Even the Football Medical Association has echoed the sentiments of the doctor’s group in saying that Carneiro and Fearn did the right thing by running on field and doing their job without succumbing to pressure. Public support has been flowing in for the team doctor as well. While it is the player and the refereee who has to decide if treatment is required, these professionals know symptoms (concussion, overstrained or ruptured muscle) that could critically injure the player and ruin his year or career too.
Dr. Carneiro’s decision to not succumb to the coach’s verbal assault or pressure shows great strength and resolve. Her commitment as a doctor to her patient and duty is commendable. A full reinstatement with control will be the best end to this situation. The coming Sunday will be a judgement call for doctors, sports teams and more importantly for the respect and due dilligence that must be given to doctors and what they stand for- ‘patient care regardless of the circumstances.’
