Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro appeared at a preliminary hearing on her case for constructive dismissal at the London South Employment Tribunal today. The 42-year-old doctor’s role was first downgraded at the club before being let go in September.
During Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Swansea, Carneiro had rushed to the pitch along with physio Jon Fearn to treat Eden Hazard who was down injured. While the referee had called them to treat the Belgian forward, Mourinho was furious as he did not want to be another man down following Thibaut Courtois’s red card.
The Portuguese boss had called Carneiro “impulsive and naive” and abused her as she returned to the bench. It set in motion the events that led to her eventual dismissal and Carneiro’s lawyers serving a notice of a claim of constructive dismissal against the London club. There is also a separate case against the now former Chelsea boss for discrimination and victimisation.
The preliminary hearing saw no settlement reached between Carneiro and the club, according to Mary O'Rourke QC and another hearing has been fixed for a later date. Mary O'Rourke is one of the leading medical law barristers in the United Kingdom and has handled a number of high-profile cases in sports medicine.
Her legal team are attempting to win compensation and damages for both sexual discrimination and wrongful dismissal. They are also trying to get her reinstated as the club doctor.
MORE: Why Jose Mourinho is to blame in the Eva Carneiro fallout at Chelsea
Chelsea players have offered Carneiro support
Carneiro has also found support among some of the club’s players, even though the case is against the club. Although they would not back her on record, she has reportedly received support from players via messages through third parties as they cannot be seen as going against the club.
The players had expressed sympathy towards Carneiro and the treatment meted out to her by the club did not go down too well with them. She is understood to be close to many Blues players, especially the Spanish contingent.
It is understood that her legal team have no plans to call them to court for questioning and give any evidence on her behalf.
FA did not seek her statement in investigation
In October 2014, Carneiro had blasted the Football Association (FA) for not getting her statement on the matter during their investigation. Although Mourinho was accused of making abusive and discriminatory comments towards Carneiro, the FA had found Mourinho innocent and cleared him of any wrongdoing.
“I was surprised to learn that the FA was allegedly investigating the incident of 8th of August via the press,” Carneiro had said. “I was at no stage requested by the FA to make a statement.”
