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Monday, 17 August 2026dailybeirut.com
Football
Eva Carneiro, former Chelsea doctor, responded to a new Netflix documentary featuring José Mourinho and John Terry, reigniting the 2015 incident that led to her departure from the club.
Eva Carneiro, the former Chelsea doctor, has publicly challenged José Mourinho and John Terry following their comments in the newly released Netflix documentary “Mourinho”, reviving the contentious 2015 episode that precipitated her exit from the London club eleven years ago.
The controversy stems from Chelsea’s opening Premier League fixture of the 2015–16 season against Swansea City in August 2015, which ended in a 2–2 draw. With goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois already sent off, Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn entered the pitch to treat Eden Hazard. Under competition rules, Hazard was required to leave the field temporarily, leaving Chelsea with nine players on the pitch for a short period.
Mourinho reacted strongly at the time, labelling Carneiro and Fearn “impulsive and naive” and claiming they “did not understand football”. In the documentary, he reiterated his position, stating: “I am not a doctor, but my eyes know when a player is injured and when he is not. I knew Eden was not injured, yet the doctors came onto the pitch and left the team with nine players.”
He added: “For me, the doctor — whether a woman or a man — is the same. So, as usual, I used my vocabulary when I was unhappy. There are words spoken in moments of extreme tension. Usually, people who possess football culture or football genes move past it in a second — but this time, it was different.”
John Terry, then Chelsea captain, backed Mourinho’s version of events in the film, asserting there had been an established understanding between players and medical staff that pitch entry would occur only in cases of “very serious injury”. He said: “Medically, José was saying they would not come on unless the injury was very serious. That was the understanding among us as players and with the medical team — and everyone accepted it. Of course, it was a pivotal moment, and he bore much criticism because of it.”
Carneiro responded directly on X, writing: “Eleven years later, we’re back to reliving the worst moments. I just hope they made some money from it.” She also addressed Terry specifically, citing a report by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine stating that medical staff bear “full responsibility and care” to enter the pitch and assess a player once summoned by the referee.
In another post, she clarified the sequence of events: “It’s very simple: referee Michael Oliver called us onto the pitch twice. Eden Hazard requested medical attention. We made eye contact with him from the touchline and confirmed visually — twice — that he needed medical care. At that point, my hands were tied as a professional doctor.”
She wrote further, according to ESPN: “We are bound by professional and legal medical standards and conduct. It would be helpful — and more beneficial — for John Terry to learn the rules of the game. It’s been a long time, my friend.”
Following the Swansea match, Carneiro and Fearn were removed from first-team duties. Carneiro left Chelsea the following month and initiated legal proceedings against the club for unfair dismissal, alongside a separate lawsuit against Mourinho.
A settlement was reached between Chelsea and Carneiro in June 2016 after the case reached an employment tribunal. The club issued a formal apology to Carneiro. Mourinho did not issue any public apology.
The English Football Association had cleared Mourinho in September 2015 of charges related to discriminatory remarks toward Carneiro during the incident. He was dismissed from Chelsea approximately three months later, following a poor start to the club’s title defence in the Premier League.
