
Jose
Mourinho has arrived at Eva Carneiro's employment tribunal, where the former
Chelsea manager is expected to hear allegations he berated her, sexually
harassed her and ultimately demoted her from "the job of her dreams".
Mourinho - who had not been expected to attend until he was due to give
evidence next Monday and Tuesday - arrived at the tribunal just after 1pm on
Tuesday, along with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck.
Proceedings had been due to start at 2pm, but have now been delayed until
2.30pm following Mourinho's arrival.
Former Chelsea medic Carneiro will take the stand in Croydon to claim how
she was unfairly punished despite acting "in compliance with the rules of
the game and her professional duties."
In skeleton statements released by both sides during a bruising first day of
evidence, Carneiro claims that rather than investigating Mourinho's
behaviour, Chelsea confirmed her demotion and told her to "build bridges"
with the Portuguese, now manager of Manchester United.
Mary O'Rourke QC, the head of Carneiro's legal team and a Manchester United
season ticket holder, will on Tuesday highlight a series of "sexist and
derogatory" emails and texts between Mourinho and his backroom staff.
Chelsea, represented by Daniel Stilitz QC, will then cross-examine Carneiro.
On Monday, Chelsea claimed Carneiro would still be the first-team doctor at
the club had she not resigned. Their witness statements then said they had
already offered Carneiro her job back and £1.2m in settlement, a sum she
rejected.
Stilitz will claim that she refused to rebuild her relationship with
Mourinho and will suggest Carneiro is claiming sexual discrimination purely
to boost what he describes as her "extravagant" compensation claim.
The maximum compensation limit for unfair dismissal is capped at £79,000.
However, there is no upper limit on compensation in a discrimination case.
According to Chelsea, Carneiro was "increasingly preoccupied with developing
her profile" against the club's wishes. She uploaded a video on YouTube
undertaking an ice-bucket challenge, before nominating Chelsea defender
Branislav Ivanovic.
They claim she was keen to position herself near Mourinho during televised
matches and perhaps most serious of all, Stilitz will suggest she secretly
briefed against the club to the media, in flagrant breach of policy and
procedure.
Carneiro is claiming unfair dismissal by Chelsea and in a separate but
related case, the 42-year-old doctor is claiming sex discrimination and
harassment by Mourinho. The hearing continues.