FIFA Medical Chief Backs Chelsea Doctor in Jose Mourinho Row
Jose Mourinho removed team doctor Eva Carneiro and head physiotherapist Jon Fearn from match-day duties last weekend.
FIFA's medical chief Jiri Dvorak warned coaches on Friday that their opinion is irrelevant when it comes to player health and safety in a stinging rebuke to Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho removed team doctor Eva Carneiro and head physiotherapist Jon Fearn from match-day duties last weekend.
The Portuguese was angered when Carneiro and Fearn ran on to treat Eden Hazard during the 2-2 draw with Swansea City on the season's opening weekend, which temporarily left Chelsea with nine players after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had earlier been sent off.
But Dvorak told Mourinho to concentrate on playing matters and not medical issues.
"In medical terms, when it comes to medical diagnosis, the coach has nothing to say," FIFA chief medical officer Dvorak told the ruling body's weekly magazine.
"It is at the sole discretion of the doctor and we at FIFA will always endorse that.
"It is our professional rule and our ethical duty to look after the players' health. If we let coaches intervene, we can end up with a situation where a player suffers a serious health issue as a consequence of a lack of medical attention.
"And then the one to be held responsible will be the doctor, not the coach."