Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 7y

Ex-Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro named Woman of the Year by WIF

Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro has won Woman of the Year at the Women in Football Awards for showing "courage and professionalism" during her lengthy employment dispute with the club last year.

Carneiro resigned her position at Chelsea in September 2015 in protest at her treatment by then-manager Jose Mourinho, who publicly criticised and then demoted her and physio Jon Fearn for their decision to run onto the Stamford Bridge pitch to treat an injured Eden Hazard during a 2-2 draw with Swansea City in August.

After seeking legal advice, Carneiro then launched separate but connected claims of sex discrimination and victimisation against Chelsea and Mourinho, and the dispute went to a full public employment tribunal in June after several private hearings failed to result in a settlement.

On the first day of the tribunal in Croydon, lawyers representing Chelsea and Mourinho submitted a skeleton argument that attacked Carneiro's character and motives for pursuing the case, as well as claiming that she had turned down "an open offer" of £1.2 million to settle her claims in private.

In her summary argument, Carneiro's legal team insisted that Mourinho had called her a name during the Stamford Bridge incident, and claimed that she had been described and treated as a woman who did not understand football.

The case was settled on the second day just as Carneiro was preparing to be questioned on her statement, with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck and director Marina Granovskaia -- as well as Mourinho -- present in Croydon to facilitate the negotiations.

Chelsea subsequently issued a statement on their official website in which they apologised unreservedly for the "distress caused" by the circumstances surrounding Carneiro's departure, though Mourinho declined to do the same. The final compensation figure paid to her remained undisclosed.

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