Mourinho in new documentary storm: Ex-Chelsea physio hits out after humiliation

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FT Desk

The new documentary detailing the career of Jose Mourinho started streaming on Netflix only a few days ago, but has already caused some controversy.

The three-part show looks back on his beginnings as a coach at Barcelona, before he hit the big time with Porto and then became one of the most legendary managers of all time at Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid and so on.

As well as the wins and the losses, the doc recalls controversial moments throughout Mourinho's career. One in particular got him into legal trouble.

During a Premier League match between Chelsea and Swansea in 2015, Eden Hazard went down clutching his groin after a robust challenge and physios Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn quickly entered the pitch to provide treatment.

Mourinho was apoplectic on the sidelines as he didn't give them permission to enter the field of play, as now Hazard would have to come off after having received treatment, leaving Chelsea a man down temporarily. Thibaut Courtois had already been sent off so the Blues would only have nine players on the pitch.

He made his feelings known to both, swearing and gesticulating towards them. Both Carneiro and Fearn were relieved of first-team duties and the former had left the club by the next month.

She didn't take the situation lying down, however, and launched legal proceedings against Chelsea for constructive dismissal as well as a separate claim against the Chelsea boss. A settlement was reached and the club apologised. Mourinho did not.

It seems the documentary has opened up old wounds for Carneiro, who posted on X:

"11 years on and here we are reliving the worst. Hope they made some money."

In the doc, John Terry said Mourinho told his players that they would only receive treatment on the pitch if their injury was "very, very bad" and defended the actions of his manager.

In reference to that, Carneiro wrote:

"We are bound by a medico-legal code of conduct. Genuinely, it would be healthy for John Terry to learn the rules of the game. It's been long enough mate."

The former Chelsea physio also shared a statement from the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine which states that medical staff have an "absolute duty of care" to go onto the pitch and assess a player when requested to do so by the referee.

It does not appear that Mourinho regrets his treatment of the medical staff.

"I'm not a doctor but my eyes know when a player is injured and when a player is not injured," he says in episode three.

"I knew Eden was not injured but the doctors went on to the pitch and we were left with nine players.

"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."

In September 2015, the Football Association found Mourinho not guilty of making discriminatory remarks towards Carneiro during the incident.

However, his time at Chelsea came to an end less than three months later, when he was dismissed after the club made a disappointing start to their defence of the Premier League title.