
The
Football Association has come under attack from one of its own board members
for its conduct over the case of former Chelsea team doctor Eva Carneiro.
Heather Rabbatts, an independent board member and the head of the FA's
inclusion advisory board, said she had "major concerns" regarding the FA's
disciplinary process in the case.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was cleared by the FA on Wednesday of making
discriminatory comments towards Carneiro. It has emerged that the FA made no
attempt to interview Carneiro or even ask for a witness statement.
Rabbatts told
SSNHQ: "The only person who has suffered
significantly is Eva Carneiro herself. She's someone at the top of her
profession and she's been doing her job brilliantly well and now she's lost
her career she dearly loved. She's paid the price for doing nothing wrong.
"Eva Carneiro was punished for doing her job, which is an offence to human
justice."
She added: "The FA's reaction to the treatment of Dr Eva Carneiro has been
seriously disappointing. I have major concerns over the way in which the
disciplinary process has been conducted and the lack of an organisational
response to the wider issues raised by this case.
"We had an announcement late [Wednesday] relating to a high-profile incident
which occurred on August 8.
"Yet it would appear that during that time no witnesses were requested to
speak to the FA, including Dr Carneiro, and in the course of the
investigation some media were reporting it was likely that no charge was to
be brought.
"This is on top of a previous case when clear evidence of exist and abusive
chanting from groups of supporters against Dr Carneiro was apparently not
seen as sufficient for a charge to be raised."
Mourinho criticised Carneiro for going on to the pitch to treat midfielder
Eden Hazard. Carneiro, who first arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2009, has
since parted company with the club.
There had been suggestions Mourinho had used abusive language towards
Carneiro but the FA, after analysing audio footage of the incident, revealed
it "is satisfied that the words used do not constitute discriminatory
language under FA Rules".
Rabbatts is unhappy about the lack of support across football for Carneiro,
who was also the target of sexist abuse from opposing fans.
She said: "A highly respected medic, a woman at the top of her profession in
football, has been mistreated, undermined, verbally abused and yet no one
apart from Dr Carneiro has faced significant consequences.
"In addition, the demotion of Dr Carneiro and her subsequent departure from
Chelsea FC raises important issues which the club, the FA , the Premier
League, the PFA and the LMA need to address.
"It is my view that the lack of support given to her as a medic and as a
woman has resulted in her removal from the game. This is not only a personal
tragedy but is a setback for player welfare and sends a terrible message to
other medics and all those girls and women who aspire to play a role at the
top level of professional football.
"I have shared these views with senior colleagues at the FA and hope that by
speaking out all parties involved will be encouraged to take steps to
support Dr Carneiro and ensure that real and serious lessons are learned for
the future."