Eva Carneiro’s decision to take to Facebook in the wake of her public dressing-down by José Mourinho sealed her demotion at Chelsea, although the manager’s unhappiness with aspects of her work is said to have been building prior to Saturday’s flashpoint at the end of the Swansea City game at Stamford Bridge.

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Carneiro ran on to the field, together with the club’s head physiotherapist, Jon Fearn, in the third minute of stoppage time to treat Eden Hazard, who had gone down with an injury. Television footage has shown that the pair were beckoned on by the referee, Michael Oliver, and it looked as though they were merely fulfilling their duty of care as medical professionals.

Mourinho, though, was incensed. With Chelsea already down to 10 men after the goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ red card and the game level at 2-2, he was worried that his team might be vulnerable with only eight outfield players to a Swansea counter for the winning goal.

He gave vent to his anger afterwards, accusing his medical staff of not understanding the game, but his mood darkened further when he learned of Carneiro’s Facebook post on Sunday.

Carneiro had only previously made one post on her public page but she took to the social media platform to “thank the general public for their overwhelming support” in the wake of Mourinho’s rant. It was, she added, “really very much appreciated”.

The messages of support to which she referred, essentially, ran along the lines of people urging her to stay strong against Mourinho’s bullying. For her to acknowledge them, in such a public way, went down predictably badly with Mourinho.

He demands total loyalty and privacy from his inner circle and it has long been clear at Chelsea that members of the backroom staff are to be seen and not heard. Only Mourinho – or, sometimes, his assistants – the directors and players ever speak in public while the club has clear guidelines on the use of social media.

Employees can have Facebook and Twitter accounts but they must not, for example, post criticisms of the club or the game’s governing bodies. Carneiro’s Facebook post did not transgress the guidelines and yet it succeeded in crossing a line with Mourinho.

Carneiro was stripped of some of her key responsibilities on Tuesday, as the affair erupted into a lead news story and she will no longer be on the sideline during training sessions and matches. She will not be at the team hotel, either.

Mourinho is happy for her to remain as the first-team doctor, working out of an office at the training ground in Cobham, although for how long that arrangement lasts remains to be seen. Carneiro’s position feels untenable, despite the fact that she is well liked by the players.

Fearn has also had his responsibilities downgraded and he, too, will no longer be on the bench during games. The Premier League’s rules stipulate that a club must have a doctor and a physiotherapist on the bench so Chelsea will need to find replacements for the visit to Manchester City on Sunday.

Chelsea have described the situation as an “internal staffing matter” and, as such, they have no comment to make.

It is understood that Mourinho’s issues with Carneiro have nothing to do with Diego Costa’s recurrent hamstring trouble – the striker’s treatment has been carried out by the club’s physiotherapists and masseurs. There was no decision to make on whether Costa needed an operation over the summer, as this was not an option. The only course has been to attempt to restore elasticity to the muscle.

Carneiro’s responsibilities have included being on site at the training ground to deal with medical emergencies or significant injuries, while she would also have overseen any medication that might have been needed for the players.

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The reaction to Carneiro’s demotion has been strong, with the Premier League Doctors’ Group expressing concern that Mourinho’s actions showed that he considers results to be more important than the welfare of players.

“Dr Carneiro has universal and total support from her medical colleagues at the Premier League Doctors’ Group,” they said, in a statement. “It is also of great concern that at a time when the both the Premier League and the Premier League Doctors’ Group are intensifying efforts to safeguard player welfare, the precedent set by this incident demonstrates that the medical care of players appears to be secondary to the result of the game.

“The Premier League Doctors’ Group considers that removing Dr Carneiro from the Chelsea team bench for their next match is unjust in the extreme. In the publicised incident in last Saturday’s game against Swansea, the Chelsea medical staff were clearly summoned on to the field of play by the match referee to attend to a player. A refusal to run on to the pitch would have breached the duty of care required of the medical team to their patient.

“It is a huge concern that Dr Carneiro has been subjected to unprecedented media scrutiny and a change in her professional role, merely because she adhered to her code of professional conduct and did her job properly.”