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Ilias Chair

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Ilias Chair
Chair with Queens Park Rangers in 2018
Personal information
Full name Ilias Emilian Chair [1]
Date of birth (1997-10-30) 30 October 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Antwerp, Belgium
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Queens Park Rangers
Number 10
Youth career
2007–2009 Club Brugge
2009–2014 JMG Academy Belgium
2014–2015 Lierse
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Lierse 2 (0)
2017– Queens Park Rangers 224 (34)
2018–2019 → Stevenage (loan) 16 (6)
International career‡
2017 Morocco U20 5 (0)
2018 Morocco U23 1 (0)
2021– Morocco 12 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:30, 17 December 2022 (UTC)

Ilias Emilian Chair (Arabic: إلياس إميليان الشاعر; born 30 October 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers and the Morocco national team.

Early life

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Ilias Chair was born in Antwerp in Belgium to a Moroccan father and Polish mother.[3][4]

Club career

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Early career

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Chair began his career in the youth system at Lierse.[5] He also spent time at the academy of Club Brugge, as well as the JMG Academy Belgium.[6] Chair made his professional debut for Lierse at the age of 17, playing in the Belgian Second Division, when he came as a 76th-minute substitute in Lierse's 1–1 away draw at Coxyde on 9 August 2015.[7][8] He subsequently started his first match a month later, on 9 September 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 home defeat to Cercle Brugge.[7][9]

Queens Park Rangers

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Chair went on trial at Championship club QPR in January 2017.[5] During the trial period, he scored in a 3–1 friendly win for the U23s against Bournemouth.[5] He subsequently signed for QPR on a permanent basis on 31 January 2017.[5] Chair was added to the club's Elite Development Squad and spent the remainder of the 2016–17 season playing for the club's U23 team.[5]

Having impressed QPR manager Ian Holloway in training,[10] Chair was named as a substitute in club's first round EFL Cup tie against Northampton Town at Loftus Road on 8 August 2017.[11] He replaced Luke Freeman in the 63rd minute of the match to make his first-team debut.[7][11] Chair made his first starting appearance for QPR in a 1–0 defeat against Preston North End at Deepdale on 2 December 2017.[12] He signed a two-year contract extension with the club on 9 February 2018, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2020.[13] He scored his first goal for the club during QPR's final home game of the 2017–18 campaign on 28 April 2018, scoring a volley at the far post as QPR overturned a one-goal deficit to win 3–1 against Birmingham City.[14] Chair made seven first-team appearances during the season, scoring once.[15]

Having made eight appearances for QPR during the first half of the 2018–19 season,[16] Chair joined League Two club Stevenage on a loan deal for the remainder of the season on 31 January 2019.[17][18] He made his Stevenage debut in the club's 1–0 victory over Yeovil Town at Broadhall Way on 2 February 2019, playing the full match.[19] Chair scored his first goals for Stevenage by scoring two long-range efforts late-on in a 2–2 away draw at league leaders Lincoln City on 16 February 2019.[20] A month later, on 12 March 2019, he scored from within his own half in Stevenage's 2–0 home win against Swindon Town.[21] Chair was nominated for League Two Player of the Month for March 2019 having contributed four goals and four assists during the month.[22] He made 16 appearances during the loan agreement, scoring six times and assisting six goals.[16][23] Stevenage manager Dino Maamria described Chair as "the best player that has ever worn the Stevenage shirt", as well as the best player to have ever played in League Two. Maamria went on to state he feels Chair had the potential to be a Premier League player, adding that it is "a shame" what has happened to him so far. [24][23]

Upon his return to QPR, he signed a new three-year contract with the club in September 2019.[25] Under new manager Mark Warburton, Chair became a key player for QPR at the start of the 2019–20 season.

On 29 January 2021, Chair signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal that would see him remain at the club until 2025, with the club having the option to extend this contract by another year.[26]

Chair started the 2021–22 season in good form and won the Championship Goal of the Month award for October 2021 after an impressive strike against Blackburn Rovers.[27]

International career

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Chair was born in Belgium and is Moroccan by descent.[3] He was called up to the Morocco U20 squad for a week-long training camp in Rabat in June 2017.[3] Chair represented the Morocco U23s in a 1–0 friendly defeat to the Senegal U23s on 23 March 2018.[28]

He debuted with the senior Morocco national team in a friendly 1–0 win over Ghana on 9 June 2021.[29] On 6 October 2021, in his fourth appearance for his country, Chair scored his first Morocco goal with the third in a 5–0 win over Guinea-Bissau.[30]

On 10 November 2022, Chair was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[31][32] On 17 December, he made his World Cup debut in the 3rd place playoff against Croatia in an eventual 2–1 loss.[33]

Personal life

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On 23 February 2024, Chair, along with his brother Jaber, were convicted of assaulting a truck driver by a court in Antwerp. He was found to have assaulted the truck driver with a rock, breaking his skull and leaving him unconscious.[34] He was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a further 12 months suspended. Chair is appealing the sentence, and Queens Park Rangers have stated that he will remain available for selection during the appeals process.[35]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 4 May 2024[36]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lierse 2015–16[7] Belgian Second Division 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
2016–17[7] Belgian First Division B 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Queens Park Rangers 2017–18[15] Championship 4 1 1 0 2 0 — 7 1
2018–19[16] Championship 4 0 2 0 2 0 — 8 0
2019–20[37] Championship 41 4 2 0 2 1 — 45 5
2020–21[38] Championship 45 8 1 0 1 0 — 47 8
2021–22[39] Championship 39 9 1 0 3 0 — 43 9
2022–23[40] Championship 40 5 1 0 1 0 — 42 5
2023–24 Championship 44 7 0 0 0 0 — 44 7
Total 217 34 8 0 11 1 — 236 35
Stevenage (loan) 2018–19[16] League Two 16 6 — — 0 0 16 6
Career total 235 39 8 0 11 1 0 0 254 40

International

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As of match played 17 December 2022
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Morocco 2021 7 1
2022 5 0
Total 12 1
As of match played 27 September 2022. England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Chair goal.
List of international goals scored by Ilias Chair
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 6 October 2021 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco 4  Guinea-Bissau 3–0 5–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [41]

Honours

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Individual

Orders

References

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  1. ^ "Club list of registered players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: List of players: Morocco" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 19. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Ilias Chair set for Morocco Under-20 training camp". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Ilias Chair - Queen's Park Rangers - Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Under-23s add Belgian attacker to ranks". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  6. ^ "JMG Football – Ilias Chair". JMG Academy. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e Ilias Chair at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Coxyde 1–1 Lierse". Soccerway. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Lierse 2–3 Cercle Brugge". Soccerway. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. ^ "QPR Profile – Ilias Chair". Queens Park Rangers F.C. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b "QPR 1–0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Preston North End 1–0 QPR". BBC Sport. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Ilias Chair: QPR midfielder signs new contract until 2020". BBC Sport. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  14. ^ "QPR 3–1 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  16. ^ a b c d "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Stevenage sign Byrne on permanent deal and four players on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Ilias Chair joins Stevenage on loan". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Stevenage 1–0 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Lincoln City 2–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  21. ^ "Stevenage 2–0 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Ilias Chair nominated for PFA Player of the Month". Stevenage F.C. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Ilias Chair 'the best player that has ever worn a Stevenage Football Club shirt' according to boss Dino Maamria". The Comet. 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  24. ^ Whelan, Ryan (3 December 2024). "Exclusive: Dino Maamria Hails QPR Man as Best He Ever Coached". thedeck.news. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  25. ^ "Ilias Chair: QPR midfielder signs new three-year contract". BBC Sport. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Ilias Chair extends QPR stay until 2025". www.qpr.co.uk. 29 January 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Chair scoops Goal of the Month accolade". www.qpr.co.uk. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Chair features in Morocco U23 defeat". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  29. ^ "Match Report of Morocco vs Ghana - 2021-06-08 - FIFA Friendlies - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
  30. ^ "Morocco 5–0 Guinea-Bissau". www.fifa.com. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  31. ^ "Morocco World Cup 2022 squad: Who's in and who's out? | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  32. ^ "Moroccan coach unveils list of 26 Atlas Lions in 2022 World Cup". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Croatia vs Morocco 2-1: World Cup 2022 – as it happened". Al Jazeera. 17 December 2022.
  34. ^ MacInnes, Paul (23 February 2024). "QPR's Ilias Chair sentenced to year in Belgian prison for breaking man's skull". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  35. ^ "QPR release statement on Ilias Chair after player sentenced to prison for assault on truck driver". TalkSport. 23 February 2024.
  36. ^ Ilias Chair at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  37. ^ "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  38. ^ "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  39. ^ "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  40. ^ "Games played by Ilias Chair in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  41. ^ "Morocco 5–0 Guinea–Buissau". www.fifa.com. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  42. ^ "Les dix types de wissams royaux accordés par Mohammed VI". Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
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