Eva Carneiro to pursue Employment Tribunal claim against Chelsea

A sports physio who formerly worked at Premier League club Chelsea has issued Employment Tribunal proceedings against the club after she claims that she was forced out.

Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro has made a claim for constructive dismissal against Chelsea Football Club weeks after leaving the club as a result of a disagreement with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Carneiro, who was previously the first-team physio at the club, was dropped from her role as first-team physio after Mourinho publicly criticised on 8 August 2015 her for being “naive” for treating Chelsea player Eden Hazard during a game against Swansea, an action which left Chelsea with nine players on the field at the time.

After being relegated from the first-team Carneiro worked with the reserves and with the youth teams, and was no longer allowed to attend matches or training sessions. Two days after the incident she posted a message on Facebook thanking the public for their “overwhelming support”. She then left the employ of Chelsea on 22 September 2015.

It is believed that Carneiro is bringing a claim for constructive unfair dismissal against Chelsea, after failing to agree a settlement package with Chelsea. She is believed to be alleging that Mourinho’s comments and her demotion destroyed the bond of mutual trust and confidence that had previously existed between the parties. It is also believed that she will shortly serve proceedings on Mourinho personally for alleged discrimination.

Chris Hadrill, a specialist employment solicitor at Redmans, commented on the case: “Little is known of this case at the moment apart from the fact that proceedings have apparently been issued by Carneiro against Chelsea Football Club. We will have to wait and see how this case develops – if it comes to the Employment Tribunal then it is likely that Jose Mourinho will be asked to give evidence, which could be interesting.”