Wenger offers support to Eva Carneiro

Arsene Wenger has given his support to Chelsea team doctor Eva Carneiro after she ran on the pitch to attend to Eden Hazard during a match against Swansea, which forced him to be removed from the match for a short period of time. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is reducing her role in the medical staff because of this, but one of his main rivals disagrees with that decision. This incident happened in the third minute of stoppage time during the second half of Chelsea’s Premier League opener against Swansea, which finished as a 2-2 draw.

Wenger spoke about the situation, stating: “It can be a problem inside a club. It’s difficult enough and if you’re not united it’s more difficult. Trust and unity inside a club is a strength.”

Jose Mourinho is infamous for his ruthless, controversial attitude, and the steps he is taking to resolve this issue certainly fall under that category. Carneiro is entering her fifth season at the south London club, and she could possibly be looking for a new one very soon by the way Mourinho is treating her. The former Real Madrid boss could also be fought by the rest of his medical staff after this, and they could be more apprehensive over the care for players during matches, which could be dangerous and cause injuries to be more serious than initially thought, due to players overexerting while playing on, instead of being taken off the pitch for treatment.

Wenger went on to say: “That story at Chelsea, I have not followed that and I do not have great interest in what’s going on.

“Secondly, the rules are clear, when the ref give indication for the medics to come on they can come on.”

The referee, Michael Oliver, did wave the team doctor on at this moment, but Mourinho thinks Carneiro should have waited until there were more serious indications that Hazard needed treatment. Her going o nto the field forced Chelsea to go down to nine men because of the red card issued to Thibaut Courtois earlier in the game. Carneiro has been relieved of match day duties and will not be on the sideline for the foreseeable future.