Mourinho stands firm: no apology to Chelsea’s Dr Eva Carneiro
Jose Mourinho has refused to apologise to Chelsea’s Dr Eva Carneiro in his new Netflix series MOURINHO, reopening a decade-old controversy that once engulfed Stamford Bridge.
In the opening scene of the three-part documentary, the 63-year-old manager declares, “Jose Mourinho REFUSES to apologise to Chelsea’s Dr Eva Carneiro,” directly addressing the 2015 touchline clash that saw him unleash a profanity-laden tirade at the club’s medical staff.
2015 incident reignited by Netflix documentary
During a Premier League match against Swansea City in August 2015, Mourinho reacted furiously when Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn ran onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard, shouting expletives such as “f*** off, man” and “f*** you, man” at the medical team.
The documentary marks the first time Mourinho has spoken publicly about the incident since a confidential settlement with Chelsea in 2016, presented by Harry Bamforth, live sports coverage reporter.
Legal battle and Chelsea’s apology
Carneiro later alleged sexual discrimination, claiming Mourinho called her the “daughter of a wh***” in Portuguese, while Mourinho described her as “impulsive and naive” in his 2015 reaction. She was dropped from first-team duties and left Chelsea a month after the incident.
Chelsea and Mourinho reached a settlement after Carneiro took the club to a tribunal; the terms remain undisclosed, though reports from the hearing revealed Chelsea had previously offered £1.2 million to silence her. The club issued an unreserved apology, but Mourinho refused to apologise, even grinning as he left the tribunal and repeating his stance in the documentary.
Mourinho’s defence and players’ reactions
In the series, Mourinho argues, “For me, a lady doctor is the same as a man’s doctor. So, as always, I use my vocabulary when I’m not happy,” insisting he can judge when a player is injured. He claimed the doctors’ intervention left Chelsea with nine men after Hazard was briefly withdrawn and Thibaut Courtois was sent off.
Former captain John Terry recalled that players understood medical staff would only enter the pitch if an injury was “really, really bad,” and noted the episode drew intense scrutiny on the club, with Mourinho bearing the brunt of the backlash.
Eden Hazard, who appears in the documentary, described the incident as “nothing special,” though he added, “with Jose everything is bigger.”
The three-part series also includes contributions from Terry and Frank Lampard, tracing Mourinho’s three-decade career, his trophy-laden successes, and the controversies that have shaped his public image.