 Black's father, also named Ian, was a professional footballer who started his senior career with Celtic, before being farmed out to Tranent Juniors, also playing for Hearts as well as city rivals Hibernian.Peter Black, Ian's grandfather, was also a footballer; he is the only one in the family to be a goalkeeper.It was reported in May 2011 that Black, along with his Hearts teammate Robert Ogleby, had been arrested and charged with possession of a class A drug in an Edinburgh night club.