EVA CARNEIRO HAS revealed that she didn’t watch a game for almost a year after a bitter dispute with her former employers Chelsea led to her walking away from football.
The former club doctor was involved in a verbal altercation with then-Blues manager Jose Mourinho during a Premier League game against Swansea in August 2015, when she and physio Jon Fearn entered the pitch late in the match to tend to an injured Eden Hazard.
The incident led to her leaving the club shortly after and subsequently taking legal action.
In an interview with l’Equipe, Carneiro, who is now a specialist consultant with Sports Medical Group in London’s Harley Street, says she’s rejected offers to return to football.
“If I’m honest, it took me almost a year to be able to watch a football game. The final of the 2016 Champions League was the only game that I could sit down in front of last year,” she said.
Carneiro had been at Chelsea for six years when the incident with Mourinho occurred.
With his team already down to 10 men, Mourinho was furious that Carneiro and Hearn entered the field as it meant they temporarily lost another player.
He exchanged words with Carneiro when she walked back to the dugout. Afterwards, Mourinho continued his criticism of the medical team in a BBC interview.
“They were impulsive and naive,” he said.
“Whether you are a kit man, doctor or secretary on the bench you have to understand the game.”
Afterwards, Carneiro was demoted from first-team duties and decided to leave the club. She brought a constructive dismissal case against Chelsea and alleged sex discrimination and harassment against Mourinho.
In June 2016, she settled out of court with her former employer – who later apologised ‘unreservedly’ and accepted that Carneiro had done nothing wrong – shortly before she gave testimony.
She agreed to drop her claims against Mourinho.
Carneiro, who was subject to sexist abuse from fans during her time with Chelsea, also revealed death threats throughout her stand-off with the club and Mourinho.
You comfort yourself every day by reminding you that you did your job and nothing wrong. Fortunately, the wind is starting to turn for the cowards who hide behind social networking accounts so they can threaten others. Legislation is at a turning point today, we must pursue these individuals and make them face their responsibilities.”
Carneiro did have kind words for the English journalists who reported on the story.
With few exceptions, the English journalists worked with ethics and sought the truth. You know, I was David against Goliath, and it’s much more comfortable and useful to be on Goliath’s side. I found myself in the midst of a storm, but I am very proud of the way the English press treated the case.”
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