QPR fans' reaction to hearing Ilias Chair is starting one day after jail sentence

Queens Park Rangers fans have reacted to the news that player Ilias Chair will start for their Championship match against Rotherham just one day after being sentenced to jail.

Chair, 26, was found guilty of fracturing a truck driver’s skull.

The club reacted to the media reports and issued a statement, which read: "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."

On Saturday, just one day after his sentencing, Chair was named in the QPR starting XI to face Rotherham.

Prior to kickoff, Chair’s name was greeted with cheers from QPR fans as it was read out.

According to journalist Toby Bryant, who wrote on social media: “Biggest cheer of them all for Ilias Chair by #QPR fans at Loftus Road.

“The Moroccan was sentenced to a year in prison this week for assault by a Belgian court - he is appealing. Chair booed by @RotherhamUnited fans on his first touch.”

Biggest cheer of them all for Ilias Chair by #QPR fans at Loftus Road.

The Moroccan was sentenced to a year in prison this week for assault by a Belgian court - he is appealing. Chair booed by @RotherhamUnited fans on his first touch. pic.twitter.com/ZhwN7TkrGi

— Toby Bryant (@toby_bryant_) February 24, 2024

As reported by talkSPORT, he is set to serve one year in jail, as well as a further 12-month suspended sentence and must pay the victim £13,400 in compensation.

Antwerp's public prosecutor said: "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."