Friday 2 October 2015 14:32, UK
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.
Some reports suggested the FA had made no attempt to interview Dr Carneiro or even ask for a witness statement.
However, Sky Sports understands the FA reached out to Dr Carneiro, through her lawyers, to ask her if she wanted to provide any evidence on this particular investigation or any other matter and to this date no evidence has been forthcoming.
Earlier 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."
