Chelsea
Chelsea

Former Chelsea doctor, Eva Carneiro, who rather became famous after her spat with ex-club manager Jose Mourinho has hinted at a return with the Blues. Carneiro left her high-profile and high-earning job at Chelsea back in 2015, and has since been practicing independently. However, the infamous spat with Mourinho left a stain on her career, with the matter even being taken to the court by her wherein she accused the Portuguese coach of ‘sexual discrimination’ against her.

The incident which led to the row and the legal battle had took place on the opening day of the 2015/16 Premier League season where Chelsea played Swansea at the Stamford Bridge. The then Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho was apparently raging at Carneiro for rushing to attend to Eden Hazard after he sustained a head injury. The short-treatment meant Hazard had to leave the pitch for and wait for the referee’s signal before returning, which irked Mourinho.

Chelsea
The infamous incident between Carneiro and former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho led to the doctor resigning a year later from her club job. Credits: Twitter

Carneiro in back in London as she teases a Chelsea comeback

The actions of Carneiro that day not only irked Jose Mourinho, but also drew some comments, which she deemed as ‘explicit’ from the coach. The now Roma manager was apparently furious with Carneiro attending Hazard as his side was locked at 2-2 with the visitors, with only the injury time after the 90 minutes remaining. However, with the female doctor treating Hazard on the pitch, which then saw him move to the sidelines before entering pitch on referee’s instruction was the melting point.

With Chelsea staring at a drab draw at home on the opening day, Mourinho was fuming that his best player was not on the pitch for a minute when needed the most. And he pinned the blame on Carneiro who without a brief talk with the manager ran on to the pitch to treat the player who had sustained a head injury. Although Hazard was fine after some initial treatment, Chelsea ended the game with just a point collected.

But that was the start of something ugly as Carneiro dragged Jose in court accusing him of shouting a sexist comment at her as she ran to attend Hazard. She also claimed the club failed to act on it and paid no attention whatsoever. The case went on for another year, as the FA too was carrying out their parallel investigation. However, Carneiro resigned from her job in 2016, and settled the case as well on confidential terms. She said after the settlement:

“I am relieved that today we have been able to conclude this tribunal case. It has been an extremely difficult and distressing time for me and my family and I now look forward to moving forward with my life. My priority has always been the health and safety of the players and fulfilling my duty of care as a doctor.

“In running onto the pitch to treat a player, who requested medical attention, I was following the rules of the game and fulfilling my medical responsibilities. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me including my husband, family and friends and members of the football community.”

Back in December 2022, Carneiro however hinted at a return to Chelsea for the first time since the whole Jose Mourinho episode. The doctor was requested by fan on Twitter, asking her for a ‘One Last Dance’ with the club, to which she had replied: “Venga!”, meaning ‘Let’s go’ in English. Teasing her return once again, Carneiro also posted a picture of London sky a couple of days ago, with a caption: ‘Hello beautiful London’.

While there’s no official talk of her making a comeback with Chelsea, many fans flooded the comment section pleading her to return.