Mourinho breaks 11-year silence on Eva Carneiro feud
The Portuguese coach addressed one of the Premier League's most controversial moments in a Netflix documentary, but his stance on the abuse directed at the club doctor remains unchanged.
The Portuguese coach addressed one of the Premier League's most controversial moments in a Netflix documentary, but his stance on the abuse directed at the club doctor remains unchanged.
José Mourinho, the 63-year-old Portuguese football manager, has broken more than a decade of silence over his clash with former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro. In the new three-part Netflix documentary series titled MOURINHO, he reflects in detail on the incident from the start of the 2015/16 season that marked the beginning of the end of his second spell at the London club, yet he still refuses to offer an apology.
The incident occurred at Stamford Bridge during a league match against Swansea City. Chelsea found themselves in a difficult situation after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was shown a red card, and in the closing stages, star player Eden Hazard fell to the turf. Although the Belgian appeared injured, Mourinho wanted play to continue without interruption to avoid his team being reduced to ten men.
Despite the manager's wishes, Dr. Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn ran onto the pitch to tend to Hazard. According to the rules, a player receiving medical attention must temporarily leave the field, which left Chelsea with just nine players at that moment. This enraged Mourinho, whose reactions were captured by cameras.
"I'm not a doctor, but my eyes can tell when a player is injured and when he isn't. I knew Hazard was fine, but the doctors ran on and we were left with nine players," Mourinho recalled in the documentary.
Footage captured a torrent of expletives and abusive shouts directed at the medical team. Carneiro later claimed he sexually discriminated against her and called her a highly derogatory name in his native Portuguese, specifically "daughter of a whore."
Mourinho publicly branded her "impulsive and naive," quickly barred her from the first team, and Carneiro left the club a month later. The case was settled in court, where the doctor filed a lawsuit against the club and the manager for discrimination and wrongful termination. Chelsea eventually issued a public apology and proposed a confidential settlement, with reports during the legal proceedings mentioning a figure of £1.2 million. Mourinho never offered a personal apology.
His stance has not changed even after 11 years. In the documentary, he insists he reacted purely "in the heat of the moment" and that he did not treat the doctor differently simply because she was a woman. "For me, a female doctor is exactly the same as a male doctor. And that's why, as always, I use my vocabulary when I'm not happy," he said.
He added that there are words that slip out in moments of high tension. "Normally, people with football culture, with football DNA and background, get over it in a second. In this case, it was different."
His version of events in the documentary is supported by club legends. Former Chelsea captain John Terry revealed that everyone at the club knew about the manager's unwritten rule. "From a medical standpoint, he told us that doctors don't come onto the pitch unless it's really, really serious. That was clear to us players and the medical staff," Terry explained, adding that the club faced heavy criticism and enormous pressure.
Eden Hazard himself downplays the drama of the whole affair in the documentary. "It wasn't anything special, but with José, everything is always blown out of proportion," the Belgian said.
The three-part documentary thoroughly covers all the ups and downs of Mourinho's career, during which he has won 26 major trophies, but it's clear his stance on this incident has not changed. Mourinho remains unwavering in defending his behavior on the touchline, refusing any form of apology to his former colleague.
