In brief
Eva Carneiro left Chelsea in 2016 as a result of her disagreement with Jose Mourinho.
After the doctor was fired from Stamford Bridge, the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement.
Since then, Carneiro has prospered professionally and returned to football in a different capacity.
The amount of persons Jose Mourinho has had disagreements with over his managing tenure is too numerous to count. Being a star player or an opponent’s ballboy does not protect you from Mourinho’s anger when things don’t go his way. Additionally, things haven’t always gone his way in recent years. Some claim that since a notorious altercation with a staff member in 2015, he has changed.
We’re referring to Eva Carneiro, of course. After receiving criticism from Mourinho for attending to Eden Hazard’s injury during a 2-2 tie with Swansea on the first day of the 2015–16 Premier League season, Chelsea’s physio quit the game. When Hazard was hurt during injury time, Carneiro and Jon Fearn, the head physiotherapist at the moment, rushed onto the pitch to help him. Hazard would, of course, have to leave the pitch and wait for the referee to call him back on. After the game, Mourinho made sure to express how incensed he was.
“Even whether you are a medical doctor or a secretary on the bench, you still need to comprehend the game, which is why I wasn’t thrilled with my medical staff. You knew you were missing one player. Therefore, you must be certain that the athlete has a significant issue before going to the pitch to help them. I was certain that Eden [Hazard] was not experiencing any significant issues. He was exhausted and had a knock. My medical staff [were] gullible. They left me with two fewer players during a counterattack.
Mourinho’s connection with his physiotherapist was irreparable, and she quit the team six weeks later. Following the incident, Carneiro was barred from attending training sessions and games by Mourinho, who also forbade him from sitting on the bench. Carneiro sued the Portuguese, claiming constructive dismissal, and then turned down Chelsea’s £1.2 million settlement offer. It was quickly resolved out of court for an amount purportedly in the neighbourhood of £5 million.
Since then, some ten years later, the 51-year-old has prospered in endeavours outside of football and even unexpectedly returned to the game.
Carneiro Working for a Private Practice
The doctor also worked in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup
Carneiro worked for the Sports Medical Group, a private practice on Harley Street in London, for a while after leaving Chelsea. During the 2022 World Cup preparations, she also served as a private consultant and collaborated with the Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital in Qatar.
The 51-year-old acknowledged that it hadn’t been an easy trip even after getting back on her feet. She told talkSPORT 2 that her encounter with Mourinho had a significant effect on her career.
Carneiro said, “It’s impossible to go through something that I went through for the entirety of a year of my life and not be changed by it.” However, that hasn’t deterred me in the least.
“It’s safe to say that I needed some time off in order to appreciate my work and resume my career as a doctor without the hassles of being the centre of attention. For a very long period, I appeared in every newspaper in every nation, and I was not at all at ease with it.
“It was obvious that I was just performing my job, but some people in football wanted to treat me as though I had done something illegal. A shift in culture is required to address the negative aspects of football, including racism, child abuse, athlete protection, and regard for medical care.
The doctor, who was born in Gibraltarian, described how the influence caused her passion for football to fade to the point where she no longer wished to participate in the game at that time. She even skipped that year’s Champions League final on TV. But in the intervening period, Carneiro has returned to the beautiful game, albeit in a very different role than she had in the past.
Carneiro Now an Investor in Non-League Club
She has been joined by another recognisable sporting face
Carneiro invested in Lewes FC, a non-league football team, in 2021 because she was determined to see a shift in football culture. She chose to become involved after seeing the team’s #CallHimOut campaign, which aims to address sexism and misogyny in society. The men’s squad announced that they would call out any misogynistic language they heard during games as part of the program, which was created to raise awareness of violence against women.
After witnessing their attempts to improve football in this way, Carneiro became interested in supporting the cause and the team. She wasn’t the only one who was moved by the campaign. The institution has received investment from tennis star Andy Murray and his mother, Judy, who stated that she “loved the ethos behind this incredible club and all the people I met who work or volunteer there.” Carnerio was previously associated with the family; in 2022, he was credited with rescuing Andy’s career.
Since announcing in 2017 that they were the first team to have equal playing budgets for their men’s and women’s teams, the club has been working to improve the status of women in football. The club has seen advances as a result of Carneiro and the Murrays’ investment, with the additional funds enabling facility upgrades.
On the pitch, this season hasn’t gone particularly well for Lewes, who are presently ranked 13th in the Isthmian Premier Division—the same league as Hashtag United, a dominant force on social media. The women’s squad has been doing well in recent years, and they are still trying to improve the atmosphere for women in football. The women are only two promotions away from joining teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City in the Women’s Super League after rising to the Women’s National Premier Division.
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