Jose Mourinho revisits 2015 Chelsea medical row in new Netflix documentary

Jose Mourinho has defended the language he used towards former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro during a Premier League match in 2015, saying he would have treated a male doctor in the same way.

The former Chelsea manager discussed the incident in his new three-part Netflix documentary, Mourinho. It is the first time he has spoken publicly about the episode since reaching a settlement with Carneiro in 2016.

The dispute began during Chelsea’s Premier League match against Swansea City at the start of the 2015-16 season. Carneiro and physiotherapist John Fearn ran on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard, who had gone down injured.

Mourinho reacted angrily because Chelsea had already been reduced to nine players after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent off. Hazard had to leave the pitch temporarily while he received medical attention, leaving Chelsea with nine players.

Carneiro claimed Mourinho had subjected her to sexist discrimination during his verbal attack and had called her a “daughter of a whore” in Portuguese, his native language.

In his first public response at the time, Mourinho described Carneiro as “impulsive and naive” over her decision to attend to Hazard. She was subsequently removed from the first-team set-up and left Chelsea a month later.

Mourinho and Chelsea eventually reached a settlement after Carneiro brought a legal claim alleging discrimination by the manager and unfair dismissal by the club.

In the documentary, Mourinho said he believed his actions were consistent with the way he would have spoken to a male member of the medical staff.

“For me, a female doctor is the same as a male doctor. So, as always, I use my vocabulary when I’m not happy,” Mourinho said.

“There are words in moments when the tension is extremely high. Normally, people who have football culture, football genes and a football background get over it in a second. In that situation, it was different.”

Video footage shows Mourinho, who is now manager of Real Madrid, directing a stream of abuse at Carneiro and Fearn as they attended to Hazard. He was heard shouting phrases including “Get away from me, man” and “Fuck you, man”.

“I’m not a doctor, but my eyes know when a player is injured and they know when a player is not injured,” Mourinho said.

“I knew he wasn’t injured, but the doctors went on to the pitch and, at that moment, we were left with nine players.”

Mourinho added that Hazard had been forced to leave the field briefly, as happens when a player receives medical treatment, leaving Chelsea with nine men following Courtois’ dismissal.

John Terry, who captained Chelsea during both of Mourinho’s spells at Stamford Bridge, said players and staff had understood that the manager did not want team doctors to treat players unless an injury appeared serious.

“Medically, he would say that unless the situation was very bad, the team doctors should not intervene. That was what we had agreed among ourselves – the players, the medical staff, everyone accepted it,” Terry said.

“It was definitely a significant moment, and he came in for severe criticism because of it. The club was put under a great deal of pressure.”

Chelsea issued a clear apology to Carneiro. Mourinho, however, declined to apologise and was seen smiling as he left court.

A settlement was reached in a corridor behind the court. Chelsea later released a statement saying it “regrets the circumstances” that led to the former club doctor’s departure and “unreservedly apologises to her and her family for the distress caused”.

The terms of the settlement remain in force and were confidential. However, during the court proceedings it emerged that Chelsea had previously offered Carneiro £1.2m to keep the matter quiet.

Mourinho did not apologise after the incident or during the court case, and the documentary contains no indication that he has changed his position.