Former Chelsea team doctor Eva Carneiro's lawyers have "served notice on the club that she intends to seek a claim for constructive dismissal," according to Martyn Ziegler of the PA. It is understood that legal papers were served on the club this week and these "will trigger an employment tribunal unless an out-of-court settlement can be agreed before a hearing takes place." Carneiro's lawyer served the papers this week after "failing to agree a settlement with Chelsea so far." An employment tribunal hearing would take place in public and could be "potentially embarrassing for the club, and for that reason such cases are usually settled beforehand." Chelsea has previously said that it "cannot comment on internal staffing matters" (PA, 10/29). In London, Ben Rumsby reported Carneiro has not reported for work since she and physio Jon Fearn "were banished from the bench" by club manager Jose Mourinho for "treating Eden Hazard during Chelsea’s opening-day draw with Swansea City." She "finally conceded defeat in her battle to resume her Stamford Bridge career last month and entered negotiations designed to stave off any formal legal action." A tribunal could see her "seek compensation not just for loss of earnings but for Mourinho’s alleged verbal abuse of her during the Swansea game and his subsequent critical comments about her and Fearn" (TELEGRAPH, 10/28).
