Morocco footballer who was sentenced to a year in jail starts for Championship club

• Ilias Chair featured for QPR on Saturday, February 24 despite receiving a sentence
• The 26-year-old was found guilty of injuring a truck driver
• The Moroccan footballer was booed by Rotherdam fans on his first touch

QPR forward Ilias Chair was surprisingly part of his side’s squad on Saturday, just a day after he was sentenced to a year in jail.

Chair was found guilty of injuring a truck driver in the head with a rock.

On Friday morning, the 26-year-old, who was born in Belgium, received a one-year jail sentence with a further year suspended. He was also ordered to pay £13,400 in compensation to the victim.

For this reason, it came as a surprise to many when they saw the forward’s name in QPR’s starting XI to face Rotherdam on Saturday, barely 24 hours after his sentencing.

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But QPR’s statement on Friday provided a hint that their forward was still part of the team, as the club did not announce any form of suspension.

"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,” QPR’s statement read, per SportBible.

"The legal proceeding is yet to reach its conclusion. As such, the club will be making no further comment at this stage."

Chair’s loophole

Chair cleverly used a loophole to enable him to feature for his side, who are in real danger of being relegated to League One.

He appealed his verdict, thereby enabling him to play for his team as his counter is considered.

In the trial, it was heard that Chair, his brother and some friends got into an altercation with a truck driver in Bazeilles, northern France, leading to the unfortunate incident.

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How the game went

Chair has been an integral part of QPR’s squad this season, making 31 appearances and scoring four goals, per Transfermarkt.

When his name was read out at Loftus Road, it was met by cheers from the home fans. However, Rotherdam fans made their feelings clear as his first touch of the ball on Saturday was met by jeers.

Rotherdam took the lead as early as in the seventh minute through Tom Eaves.

QPR equalised just after the hour mark through Paul Smyth who cleverly squeezed the ball in from a tight angle.

Chris Willock then completed the turnaround in the 75th minute, and his strike ended up being the difference for The R's.

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Joana Sanz initially shared a selfie on his Instagram stories on Thursday, just hours after Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

That selfie, shared on Thursday, February 22, left a lot of speculation on whether she was sending a subtle dig at Alves.