Queens Park Rangers footballer Ilias Chair has been handed a prison sentence for breaking a truck driver’s skull with a rock.
The incident involving the international occurred in Antwerp – where the QPR star, who has made 223 appearances, grew up – and a court in the Belgian city has sentenced Chair to jail for a year with a further 12 months suspended.
Antwerp’s public prosecutor told a hearing in January: ‘According to many people involved, Ilias Chair lashed out at (victim) 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.’
The lawyer for the victim, Niels T, 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.’
Championship club QPR, meanwhile, have released 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.’
Chair is expected to remain available to play for QPR while he appeals the sentence.
