Former Chelsea team doctor Eva Carneiro has addressed comments made by Jose Mourinho and John Terry in a recent Netflix documentary about Mourinho. The discussion revolves around an incident from August 2015 during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Swansea City, where Carneiro and head physio Jon Fearn went onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard.
Mourinho expressed his anger at the time, stating that the medical staff’s decision left Chelsea with nine players on the field, as Thibaut Courtois had already been sent off. Mourinho described his medical staff as ‘impulsive and naive’ and suggested they did not ‘understand the game’. Carneiro departed from Chelsea the following month and filed a claim of constructive dismissal against the club, which was later settled at an employment tribunal.
Incident Revisited in Documentary
The incident was featured in the Netflix documentary series titled ‘Mourinho’. In the documentary, Mourinho reiterated his view: ‘I’m not a doctor, but my eyes know when a player is injured, and they know when a player is not injured. I knew that he was not injured, but the doctors went to the pitch, and in that moment we were left with nine players.’
Mourinho also commented on the gender of the doctor, stating, ‘For me, a lady doctor is the same as a man’s doctor. So, as always, I use my vocabulary when I’m not happy. There are words in moments where the tension is very, very high. Normally, people with football culture, with football DNA, with football background, they go over it in one second. In that case, it was different.’
Former Chelsea captain John Terry also shared his perspective in the documentary. He claimed there was an unwritten understanding among the players that medical staff would not enter the pitch for treatment unless an injury was severe. Terry stated, ‘Medically, he would say unless it’s really, really bad, then they’re not coming on. That was the understanding for us as players, the medical staff, everyone bought into that.’
Carneiro’s Response to Claims
Carneiro has since responded to the comments from Mourinho and Terry. In a post on X, she asserted that Hazard had personally requested medical attention. She wrote, ’11 years on and here we are reliving the worst. Hope they made some money.’
She further clarified her actions, stating, ‘We are bound by a medico-legal code of conduct. Genuinely it would be healthy for John Terry to learn the rules of the game. It’s been long enough mate.’
Carneiro detailed the sequence of events: ‘So IT IS really simple. Referee Michael Oliver called us on TWICE, player Eden Hazard requested medical assistance we then made eye contact from side line and he confirmed he needed medical assistance, TWICE. At that point my hands are bound as a medical professional.’
Mourinho also addressed allegations of sexist remarks in the documentary. He stated, ‘To me, women and men are the same. I was in an extremely tense state and used harsh words that I normally use when angry. People who know football forget such foul language from a moment like that in one second, but this case was different.’
Carneiro, who had been with Chelsea’s first team since 2009, received a notice from the club restricting her access to training grounds and stadiums before her departure. She later reached a confidential settlement and received a public apology from the club in June of the following year.
Mourinho himself stepped down as Chelsea’s manager in December 2015, two months after Carneiro filed her lawsuit. He maintained that poor team performance was the primary reason for his dismissal, noting that the club had experienced a number of defeats in matches.
Source: metro.co.uk
