ILIAS CHAIR was named in QPR’s starting XI to face Rotherham just a day after being sentenced to a year in jail.
The R’s star, 26, was found guilty of breaking a truck driver’s skull with a rock.
Chair, who was born in Antwerp, Belgium, was sentenced to a year in jail, with a further year suspended, in his hometown on Friday morning.
He was also ordered to pay his victim £13,400 in compensation.
Chair is appealing the verdict and is available to play while his counter is considered.
The trial heard Chair, his brother Jaber and friends got into an argument with a trucker in Bazeilles, northern France, in summer 2020.
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Jaber received a six-month suspended jail term and £700 fine for his part in the incident.
Following the news, QPR wrote 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.
“The legal proceeding is yet to reach its conclusion. As such, the club will be making no further comment at this stage.”
The wide midfielder is among QPR’s key players, having netted the only goal in a 1-0 win over Bristol City last week.
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Going into this weekend he had made 31 appearances in the Championship this term, scoring four goals and laying on a further five assists.
Antwerp’s public prosecutor told a January hearing: ” According to many people involved, Ilias Chair lashed out at Niels T with a stone and knocked him unconscious.
“The consequences were dramatic for Niels T. He suffered a severe skull fracture, two centimetres long, and was taken to hospital at Reims in critical condition.
“Afterwards he had to recover for a long time in a Belgian hospital, and could not do his job as a lorry driver for a long time.
“The blow was almost fatal for him, and he still feels the after-effects.”
Niels T’s lawyer said: “My client almost lost his life, and it took surgeons to save him.
“He was unable to work for a long time, and still suffers adverse reactions every day to having been hit with a rock.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
