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Jose Mourinho's criticism of his Chelsea medical staff has created "a distraction" from the team's performance, according to the boss of the Football Medical Association. Mourinho was angry that Carneiro and Fearn rushed onto the pitch in the closing seconds of the 2-2 draw with Swansea last weekend to treat Eden Hazard, who appeared injured after a challenge. The move briefly left Chelsea down to nine men, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois having earlier been sent off. Mourinho said the pair's actions were "impulsive and naive" and showed that they did not "understand the game.'' They have been excluded from the bench for Sunday's match at Manchester City, although Mourinho said on Friday that did not mean they would never return. The Chelsea boss has been accused in some quarters of making the criticism to deflect attention away from his side's lacklustre start to the season. And FMA chief executive Eamonn Salmon told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme: "Certainly it's been a distraction, I would think. This story's hit the headlines and has clearly put medicine in the forefront. "So in some respects, what it does do from our point of view is highlights the significant roles that the medical staff play and the importance of their roles, and puts it high on the agenda.'' Salmon said Carneiro and Fearn had the FMA's full support, adding: "I think we would leave it for Eva to contact us if she needed us. "She knows we're here, she knows our support network, so if she wishes to get in touch and needed our support then we're here to help her for sure. "I've been in touch with Jon. He ran on first and has been very much in our minds as well as part of this whole episode." In a statement on Tuesday, Salmon had said: "We fully support the actions of our members and colleagues in this incident who acted with integrity and professionalism at all times, fully cognisant of the rules of the game and in full accordance with that duty of care to their patient." Mourinho's decision has been criticised from several quarters, including the Premier League Doctors' Group and FIFA's chief medical officer, but has also received backing from Chelsea's former club doctor, Ralph Rogers.
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