QPR’s Ilias Chair speaks publicly for the first time on being sentenced to 12 months in prison for his part in 2020 attack in Belgium.
During a heated argument with another group (who would get the bus back from the excursion) after a kayaking trip in the Ardennes Forest, he struck a man (Niels T who with his sister and a friend) over the head with a rock, fracturing the man’s skull (that measured 2cm).
This came after Chair saw his mother hurt in the melee. As per the Belgium’s public prosecutor, the altercation saw “hitting, scratching, and biting”.
In January 2024, convicted in his absence and sentenced to two years in prison (one suspended) plus €15,000 compensation, Chair successfully appealed. His cousin, Jaber, was sentenced to six months in prison for his part.
Six months later, the conviction was reduced to a misdemeanour, and he received 150 hours’ community service and a €1,600 fine.
Now upon reflection, Chair says he deeply regrets the incident and personally apologised to the victim and his family, describes it as a momentary loss of control in defence of his mother.
He says the darkest period of his life has led to him being more responsible, especially as a father and role model.
Despite the legal cloud, he continued playing for Queens Park Rangers throughout 2024, helped them avoid relegation, signed a new long-term contract, and today, is more focused on football and aimed to reach the Premier League with the club that supported him.
“I’m really sorry for what happened… I just wish I could take it back.”
It was in January 2024 that QPR and Morocco midfielder Ilias Chair’s life changed forever, as he was found guilty of breaking a man’s skull in an altercation four years earlier.
He talks for the first time… pic.twitter.com/GUsQiod2Ng
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) November 26, 2025
Chair said to The Athletic: “I wrongly, maybe naively, left it for them [legal time] to manage. That’s on me. I’m a grown man and should have taken control of the situation earlier. It should never have escalated to where it did.”
“Although I was aware that at sentencing, my time to speak had passed, I was there to show up with my new legal team for the first time, to show that I have respect for the legal system in Belgium and that I never meant to disrespect it.
“That was probably the darkest day of my life. You automatically go into the worst-case scenario — everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve done for myself, for my family, could be gone. It still makes me emotional thinking about it now.”
On playing with the threat of prison: “Obviously, these things are difficult to handle, but maybe it’s down to the upbringing my dad gave me. 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.
“There’s a lot of stuff that has gone on in my life, and once I’m on the pitch, I tend to forget about it,” he says. “But that was the one thing that stuck with me this whole time. A lot of people told me, ‘Maybe go and see a psychologist’, but I’ve had sports psychologists and for me, it’s not really that effective. It’s more effective when I speak about it with my family. It was something that I needed to fight, really — my own demons.”
“I simply saw my mother on the floor in a vulnerable and scary position and I reacted. 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.
“I spoke to the judge and I think the judge appreciated the human side of the whole case. 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.
“I’m just grateful that I can still go out there, enjoy myself and play football. I don’t really see it as a job. I’m playing the game that I love and I’m very appreciative of that.”
