Former Chelsea physio Eva Carneiro has turned her hand to football ownership just seven years after departing Stamford Bridge.
The 48-year-old Gibraltarian spent six years at Chelsea between 2009 and 2015 before a highly-documented bust-up between herself and Mourinho led to her resigning from the Blues' medical team. The incident occurred on the opening day of the 2015/16 season during a 2-2 draw with Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.
After Eden Hazard went down injured, both Carneiro and then chief physiotherapist Jon Fearn rushed onto the pitch to attend to the Belgian. After the game, Mourinho criticised the duo, saying: "I wasn't happy with my medical staff because even if you are a medical doctor or secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game."
After the incident, Carneiro was kept away from attending matches and training sessions until finally, six weeks later, officially leaving Stamford Bridge, taking the club to court on a constructive dismissal trial.
Following the conclusion of the hearing that took place in June 2016, Carneiro said: "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." The case was settled in court, with Carneiro turning down a £1.2m out-of-court settlement.
After leaving Chelsea, Carneiro started working as a private medical consultant for the Sports Medical Group in London and will now have a role in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Carneiro will be working with the Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital in Qatar in preparation for the tournament later this year, the first time the tournament will be played across the winter.
She has also become an owner at non-league side Lewes FC, whose group of owners include Judy Murray, the mum of famous tennis player Andy Murray. She joined the ownership group in November 2021 after visiting their home ground, The Dripping Pan.
After the visit, Carneiro said that she was proud to be involved with the football club that stood for equality on and off the pitch. "Love the beautiful game," said Carneiro. "Imagine using its power for good. Imagine finding a club with values at the centre of its ethos. Imagine equal pay and equal facility and pitch access for men and women.
"It was a pleasure to attend a game at The Dripping Pan. The atmosphere was everything football should inspire." Since her exit from Chelsea in 2020, Carneiro has largely kept herself away from the media and the public limelight but did give an interview about her exit from Chelsea.
"It's impossible to go through something that I went through for the best part of a year of my life and not be changed by it, but it hasn’t put me off at all," Carneiro told talkSPORT.
"It's fair to say I needed time off, I needed to enjoy my job again and be a doctor again without the complications of being in the limelight. I was in every paper in every country for a really long time and I wasn't at all comfortable with that. Certain individuals in football wanted to treat me like I did something wrong when it was clear I was only doing my job."
