We thought the controversy had reached its conclusion last night, when Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was cleared of allegations of discrimination towards former club Doctor Eva Carneiro. But now it seems the outcome of the investigation has sparked a new batch of problems for the 52 year-old coach.
Representatives of the campaign group Women in Football have said they are 'appalled' by the decision to acquit Mourinho for the way he confronted Carneiro after she ran on to treat Eden Hazard during their 0-0 draw against Swansea when Chelsea were a man down.
A statement from WiF read:
Contrary to the FA’s appointed expert’s advice, which WiF has not seen, our own language expert made it abundantly clear that the abusive words used by Mr Mourinho on the touchline that day were specifically directed towards a woman, as indicated by the grammar of his sentence. Other Portuguese speakers we contacted in gathering evidence also emphasised this point. We therefore find it extraordinary that any expert or Portuguese speaker would report otherwise.
Mourinho had a heated exchange with Carneiro towards the end of their opening game of the season after returning from attending to Hazard with physiotherapist Joe Fearn. The 42 year-old medic was then downgraded in her position at the club before officially departing the club.
It was originally believed that Mourinho used abusive language towards Carneiro but an investigation conducted by the FA in conjunction with an independent academic expert in Portuguese linguistics confirmed that no discriminatory language was used.
But WiF are not satisfied with these findings:
WiF can only conclude that this latest investigation provides yet another damning example of the FA failing to tackle discrimination, specifically sexism, in the football industry. Once again we are concerned by what we can only perceive as serious flaws in the process of such investigations
The Chelsea manager has remained consistently remorseless throughout the investigation even after it was announced that Carneiro was no longer attending training sessions or matches.
It is now understood she will consider pursuing legal action on the back of the FA decision.
