QPR’s Ilias Chair jailed ‘for breaking man’s skull with a rock’

The Morocco winger has been handed a two-year prison sentence and a £12,800 fine

(Getty Images)

QPR have confirmed they are in contact with Ilias Chair’s legal team after the player was sentenced to two years in prison in Belgium for breaking a man’s skull with a rock.

The charges against Chair relate to an incident back in 2020 during a kayaking trip.

The 26-year-old was sentenced to a two-year prison sentence, with one year suspended, in addition to a €15,000 (£12,800) fine in compensation to the victim.

The Belgium-born Morocco international has the right to appeal and is not currently incarcerated, which could make him available for QPR’s Championship game against Rotherham this weekend and beyond while the Belgian legal process continues.

QPR outlined their position in a statement: “The club are, and have been, in regular contact with Ilias Chair’s legal team regarding a charge of assault which has been made against him.

Christian Fassnacht of Norwich City and Ilias Chair of Queens Park Rangers battle for the ball (Getty Images)

“The legal proceeding is yet to reach its conclusion. As such, the club will be making no further comment at this stage.”

The 2020 trip is reported to have included visits to Ardennes and Bazeilles in France, with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reporting that the prosecutor said: “While queuing to board the bus, the victims were suddenly passed by a lady in a green bikini and her family.

“They passed the group and, as it were, demanded to be the first to get on the bus because they had just missed another bus.

“This led to a discussion with other people who were waiting, including the later victims: Niels T., his sister Eline T. and Dries D.

“The woman in the green bikini behaved very aggressively and things quickly escalated. The woman lashed out at the victims and their children. There was hitting, scratching and biting.

“According to several people involved, Ilias Chair lashed out with the stone at Niels T., who immediately lost consciousness. The consequences for Niels T. were dramatic. He suffered a serious skull fracture of two centimetres. He was admitted to Reims hospital in critical condition.

“He would then have to recover in a Belgian hospital for a long time. He was unable to work as a truck driver for a long time and to this day he still experiences the consequences of that blow, which almost killed him.”

Het Nieuwsblad also report that Chair has denied he was the man to throw the rock and he has also asked for an acquittal.

Chair is said to have attended court on Friday morning with a new lawyer and requested to reopen the hearing, though the court rejected this plea.