Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro urges authorities to offer medics more protection in sport

Former Chelsea club doctor Eva Carneiro insists more should be done by sport's governing bodies to protect the position of medics "where seconds matter" in the decisions they take.

Carneiro was criticised by then Blues boss Jose Mourinho for entering the field to treat Eden Hazard late on in a game against Swansea in August 2015. She left the club the following month after being demoted and subsequently settled her dismissal claim in June of this year.

As part of that settlement the club made an unreserved apology to Carneiro, but she believes not enough has been done since to allay the fears of other medics that they too may face similar criticism for the split-second decisions they are required to make when athletes appear to be injured.

"What happened to me happened very publicly and therefore had huge implications for health and safety in sport," she told the Daily Telegraph.

"Even now I remain concerned that the inaction of governing bodies leaves doctors worried about the backlash and keeping their roles instead of being able to concentrate solely on their medical decision-making because this is hard enough.

"When seconds matter that is a huge concern to me. Health and safety should be a priority for governing bodies and the lack of clarity leaves a very dangerous grey area."

The Football Association did not pursue any disciplinary action against Mourinho after it was alleged he made discriminatory comments towards Carneiro on the sidelines following the Hazard incident, saying it found no evidence that the words he used were discriminatory.

Carneiro, who has now begun work at her own Harley Street clinic in London, says sexism is "the least challenged form of discrimination" in the men's professional game but says she would not discourage other women wanting to follow her lead.

"The more female doctors there are in that environment, the easier it will become. It will no longer be a novelty and the attention and the focus and the scrutiny will not be there," she said.

"The barriers and the challenge to break them down that the first ones have....football is changing, without a doubt."