José Mourinho breaks silence on Eva Carneiro Chelsea row
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- José Mourinho says the Carneiro row was not why Chelsea sacked him.
- He insists the controversy was about football, not gender.
- Mourinho blames Chelsea's poor results for his December 2015 dismissal.
Mourinho discussed the infamous row in his self-titled Netflix documentary, looking back at one of the most contentious episodes of his second spell at Stamford Bridge.
The Portuguese manager returned to Chelsea in 2013 after leaving Real Madrid and went on to lead the club to the Premier League title in 2014/15.
But Chelsea's title defence quickly unravelled.
The flashpoint came during the opening match of the 2015/16 campaign, when Chelsea drew 2-2 with Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.
What happened between Mourinho and Eva Carneiro?
Chelsea were already down to 10 men after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent off when Eden Hazard went down injured deep into stoppage time.Referee Michael Oliver waved Chelsea's medical team onto the pitch, with Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn responding to treat Hazard.
The decision meant Hazard had to temporarily leave the field, leaving Chelsea with just nine players whilst they attempted to find a winner.
Mourinho was furious.
The Chelsea manager launched into an expletive-laden tirade at the medical staff, an incident that quickly became one of the defining controversies of his final season at the club.
Speaking in the documentary, Mourinho defended his reaction.
The story was very, very simple.Mourinho added that his criticism had nothing to do with Carneiro being a woman.
I'm not a doctor but my eyes know when a player is injured and when a player is not injured.
For me, a lady doctor is the same as a man doctor. So, as always, I used my vocabulary when I'm not happy. There are words in moments where the tension is very, very high.
Normally, people with football culture, with football DNA or with a football background get over it in one second. In that case, it was different.
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Mourinho denies sexism was behind his comments
The incident generated significant controversy, particularly over claims that Mourinho had directed an offensive insult towards Carneiro.There were accusations that he called her a highly offensive term in Portuguese, with the row subsequently developing into a much wider dispute.
Mourinho, however, rejected the suggestion that his anger had any sexist motivation.
Carneiro had been part of Chelsea's medical setup since 2009 and had worked with the first team under managers including André Villas-Boas and Rafael Benítez.
Following the Swansea match, Mourinho restricted her involvement with the first team, preventing her from attending training sessions and matches.
Carneiro subsequently left Chelsea around six weeks after the incident.
The dispute did not end there.
Eva Carneiro took Chelsea and Mourinho to court
Carneiro brought legal action against both Chelsea and Mourinho in a high-profile case.The dispute was eventually settled confidentially on the second day of an employment tribunal the following June.
The settlement relating to her constructive dismissal claim included a public apology from Chelsea.
By then, Mourinho had already been dismissed by the club.
He was sacked in December 2015, just two months after Carneiro initially filed her legal case.
That timing inevitably led to speculation that the dispute had played a role in his departure.
John Terry admits there was pressure on Mourinho
Former Chelsea captain John Terry acknowledged that the incident had created considerable pressure around the club.Terry explained that there had been an understanding between Mourinho, the players and the medical team regarding when treatment should be administered during matches.
Medically, José would say unless it's really, really bad, then they're not coming on. That was the understanding of us as players, the medical staff, everyone bought into that.Asked whether the Carneiro controversy was the reason Mourinho was eventually sacked, Terry admitted there had been considerable pressure surrounding Chelsea.
It was a big moment obviously and he took a lot of backlash for that.
But Mourinho offered a much more straightforward explanation.
Mourinho blames Chelsea's results for his dismissal
Chelsea had endured a disastrous start to the 2015/16 Premier League season despite entering the campaign as defending champions.By December, Mourinho's side had lost nine of their opening 16 league matches.
The final blow came in a 2-1 defeat away to Leicester City, who would go on to produce one of the most extraordinary title wins in Premier League history.
For Mourinho, that result - rather than the Carneiro controversy - ultimately decided his fate.
He acknowledged that the ongoing media attention surrounding the dispute had not helped.
The media around Chelsea every day, every press conference, what's going to happen, the lawyer from the club, the lawyer from the doctor, who is going to be a witness... all of this situation didn't help.Mourinho, however, rejected the idea that it was the reason Roman Abramovich decided to part company with him.
But come on, I was sacked because we were losing. With Roman you win or you are sacked, simple.
The timing made the controversy difficult to ignore
The Carneiro dispute undoubtedly added another layer of turmoil to an already chaotic season at Chelsea.However, the club's results provide a clear sporting explanation for Mourinho's dismissal. The defending champions had fallen dramatically down the Premier League table, whilst their performances had deteriorated only months after winning the title.
The controversy surrounding Carneiro also created a prolonged media and legal story that continued to follow the club.
But in Mourinho's view, the decisive factor was the one thing that ultimately matters most to a manager at a club such as Chelsea: results.
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