QPR player Ilias Chair opens up on regret over Belgium assault case and ‘lowest point in my life’ | OneFootball

Chair was found guilty of assaulting a man and breaking his skull with a rock

QPR midfielder Ilias Chair has opened up for the first time about being found guilty in Belgium of assaulting a man and breaking his skull with a rock.

In January 2024, Chair learned he was being prosecuted in a criminal case.

Chair was part of a small group of family and friends on kayaking trip in the Ardennes Forest in 2020 when an argument started with another group as they waited for a bus back to their base.

When the bus pulled up, the two groups argued over who should have boarding priority and the situation quickly escalated and Chair’s mother was hurt in the melee.

A man identified in the case only as Niels T was taken to a hospital in the French city of Reims in a critical condition before being moved to one in Belgium.

The prosecution named Chair as the individual who struck Niels T over the head with a stone.

According to Belgium’s public prosecutor, there was “hitting, scratching and biting” and Niels T lay on the ground with a skull fracture that measured 2cm.

In January 2024, Chair was being accused of failing to appear for a court hearing he did not know his presence was required for. He then discovered he had been found guilty in that hearing in his absence.

In February 2024, Chair was given a sentence of two years in prison with one year suspended. He was also told to pay the victim £12,800 in compensation, while his cousin Jaber was sentenced to six months in prison for his part in the brawl.

Chair returned to England while he waited to his appeal to be heard and continued to play for QPR.

“Obviously, these things are difficult to handle, but maybe it’s down to the upbringing my dad gave me,” he said. “Although it was probably the lowest point in my life, he protected me for these kinds of situations.

“The mentality that I had was: you’re a man, take responsibility for whatever happened that day and get on with it. Your family needs you. There’s still a boss who expects you to perform on a Saturday and team-mates depending on you.”

Chair was back in court in July 2024 for his appeal. He admitted that he was the person who had lashed out at Niels T.

“I simply saw my mother on the floor in a vulnerable and scary position and I reacted,” he told the Athletic. “It all happened so fast in response to what was happening. Despite this, it never should have happened.

“I wrote a letter to him and his family to say how sorry I am and apologise from the bottom of my heart. I said I wish them nothing but the best in life.”

Chair, who was in the Morocco squad that reached the 2022 World Cup semi-finals and played in the third-placed play-off, had his sentence reduced to 150 hours of community service and a £1,400 fine after his criminal conviction was changed to a misdemeanour.

“I spoke to the judge and I think the judge appreciated the human side of the whole case,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, as a young man, being there with your family, seeing your mum on the floor, bruised up… it’s not an excuse to do what I did, but at the same time, it was such a natural and human reaction that I had to that circumstance.

“I said it through the whole process and I said it to the judge that day: I’m really sorry for what happened to that person. I just wish I could take it back. My sincere apologies to that whole family.

“I learned from the whole situation. As a father, as a role model, as everything I have to be for my son. It was time for me to make sure that from that day onward, these things would not be associated with me anymore.

“We are humans, we make mistakes. My mistakes are out there in public, which is not an issue because as footballers we have the fruits of being in the public eye and playing football, which a lot of people in this world want to do, but at the same time, some negatives come with it. You have to deal with them.

“It has changed me for good in terms of taking more responsibility.”