Eva Carneiro: From a doctor in Chelsea and an enemy of Mourinho, co-owner of an England team and doctor for the World Cup

Eva Carneiro was one of the Premier League’s first doctors and spent six years on Chelsea’s staff, but the two sides parted ingloriously, with Jose Mourinho as the culprit.

Seven years later, she is a co-owner of Louis, a football team in England with 2,000 shareholders, and is involved in the construction and operation of hospitals and clinics in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

In sports andsmall

Born in Gibraltar, Carneiro had a dream as a teenager of getting a degree in sports medicine, so after studying in Nottingham she traveled to Melbourne to attend a sports medicine college and returned to London to pursue a master’s degree in sports medicine close.

Her first job was at West Ham and then she was hired in the public sector. She followed a place on the British Athletes’ Olympic preparation program for the 2008 Olympics and England women’s national team, and found herself on Chelsea’s reserves in 2009.

Andre Villas-Boas trusted her when he took over the “Blues” and was quite young compared to the established ones too. In 2011 he put her on the staff of the first team of the “Blues”. The Portuguese was sacked relatively quickly but Carneiro continued to work under the supervision of his successors Roberto di Matteo, Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho and of course to celebrate the team’s titles such as the 2012 Champions League and the 2015 Championship.

The episode with Mourinho and the end in court

The collaboration with the latter was the most extensive in terms of time, but also the most turbulent. In the 2015-2016 Premier League debut against Swansea (2-2), Carneiro and Chelsea physio John Fern saw the referee’s intention to step onto the field for first aid for Eden Hazard, but despite his work he caused Mourinho the month .

“I wasn’t happy with my medical staff because even as a doctor or a secretary on the bench you have to understand the game.” said Special One at the end of the game. Mourinho pointed out that with the sacking of Thibaut Courtois from 52′, the ‘Blues’ were already playing with 10 players and the arrival of the medical staff meant that Azar had to be off the pitch for a while, although Mourinho considered that injury was not serious.

Carneiro (and Fern) were absent from the Chelsea bench for the next game, and in September the collaboration between the two sides ended. Carneiro took legal action, both for ending the collaboration and against Mourinho for an insulting phrase he used towards her. The FA have examined the Chelsea manager’s words through a language specialist and found nothing wrong with them, although women’s rights organizations, with their own expert, claimed that Mourinho had insulted Carneiro with sexist words.

The process took a long time and in fact the club was criticized for it as it was not the case with the other contracts that were canceled all these years. Negotiations on a private level started in early 2016 and finally in June, on the second (of 10) day of negotiations, the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement without knowing the amount of the settlement.

It was revealed that Chelsea issued a statement apologizing to Carneiro and her family, admitting they rushed onto the pitch as required by a doctor and abiding by the rules of football. Furthermore, on the basis of the legal documents that have come to light, it was revealed that Carneiro had rejected a compromise offer of 1,500,000 euros and, in order to return to his previous position, had asked for an increase of 40% to receive around 500,000 per year, which is a bonus corresponds to the annual earnings, compensation for immaterial damage and participation in the club’s bonus system “to be regularly rewarded for my contribution to the success of the association”.

Back to football in all respects

“It has been an extremely difficult and soul-wracking time for me and my family and now I look forward to moving on with my life.” Carneiro had declared after the compromise, which had already taken care of when she married explorer Jason de Carter in November 2015.

In 2016, he found her in a private clinic and didn’t want to watch football games. “The Champions League final was the only game I watched.” Confessed to Equipe in 2017.

Still, it wasn’t long before she returned to the football field, always from the perspective of her profession. Qatar World Cup organizers approached them and tasked them with developing programs at Aspetar, a sports hospital in the country where the tournament’s injured players will end up.

In 2021, she increased her ties to the space, having also become a shareholder in Louis, in an effort to amplify voices against violence against women. The club, who play in the Isthmian League Premier, the 7th division of the English league, had launched the ‘CallHimOut’ campaign and Carneiro was trying in his own way to support this effort.

The shareholder structure of the semi-professional association consists of 2,000 holders of a share and thus Carneiro and another 1,999 people, including Andy Murray, co-own Louis!

“I love the beautiful game. Remember to use its power for good. Remember to find a club whose values ​​are central. Think about equal pay and equal facilities and access to the stadium for men and women It was my pleasure to attend a game on the pitch: “The atmosphere was everything football should inspire.” She had posted on social media while attending her first game as… a co-owner.