The
legal row between Dr Eva Carneiro, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea heads for the
courts for the first time in the new year with lawyers for all sides due to
cross swords in a private hearing on January 6.
Carneiro's lawyers will be claiming for reinstatement in her role as First
Team Doctor, damages for sex discrimination from manager Jose Mourinho as
well as personal injury compensation and aggravated damages from the club.
After months of accusations and legal correspondence, the two legal teams -
Eastwoods and Mary O'Rourke QC on behalf of Carneiro and Fox Williams for
Chelsea and Mourinho - will be fully briefed for battle since proceedings
were issued back in November.
At this stage it's thought unlikely that either Mourinho or Carneiro will
attend the preliminary hearing. But these latest developments will do little
to ease the pressure on the beleaguered 52-year-old manager.
The hearing will take place at the London South Employment Tribunal in
Croydon, rather than the Central London Tribunal, as Chelsea's training
ground in Cobham falls under the Croydon tribunal's jurisdiction.
At 10am, on January 6, both sides will need to advise a senior judge of the
evidence each will put forward, the number of statements and the evidence
required from each other.
This is likely to include disclosure of emails and text messages sent by
Carneiro, the club and Mourinho on, before and after August 8 when the club
doctor was dropped from first team duties for treating Eden Hazard.
Mourinho has since been cleared by the FA of using discriminatory language
towards Carneiro but the doctor has criticised the governing body over its
investigation.
The hearing, expected to last two hours, will be held in private in front of
a senior judge. If both sides are unable to reach agreement, then a date for
the full tribunal hearing will be fixed, most likely sometime beyond the end
of the season, probably around the first or second week in June.
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