UPDATED 12:16 P.M., 8/26/14: The football club of 24-year-old Albert Ebosse (pictured), JS Kabylie, has been banned indefinitely from their stadium, following the football star’s death on Saturday, according to the Guardian.
Algerian authorities along with the Confederation of African Football agreed that Kabylie will not be allowed to play at Tizi Ouzou’s 1 November 1954 Stadium, after Ebosse, who was the lead striker for the team, was hit in the head by a fan while on the pitch.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter remarked on the fatal incident, saying, “[It is] intolerable that a spectator caused the death of a player.”
Ebosse tragically sustained head trauma and internal bleeding, after he was hit with what is now being called “a sharp object.” Ebosse was ironically the only one on his team to score, even though his team ultimately lost 2-1.
Watch footage of Ebosse before and after the assault here:
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Algeria’s JS Kabylie striker and Cameroon’s forward Albert Ebosse (pictured) died in a hospital Saturday night, after being hit by a stone thrown from the crowd in a league match at the Tizi Ouzou stadium. This has prompted the Algeria Football Federation to suspend football indefinitely in the North African country.
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Ebosse was the goal king in the Algerian league 2013/14 season. He played in Malaysia the season before that.
After scoring the only goal for his team in their 2-1 defeat to USM Alger, 24-year-old Ebosse is believed to have been struck on the head by a stone from the stands by his own club’s fans as players exited the field.
Present at the game was Algerian League President Mahfoud Kerbadj who described the death a “catastrophe for national football.”
The Confederation of African Football through its president, Issa Hayatou, has registered its displeasure at the turn of events, calling for “exemplary sanctions” following the death.
Hayatou said, “African football cannot be the breeding ground for hooliganism.”
He added, “My thoughts go out to the family and friends of this young man who enjoyed his job peacefully and went further to pursue his passion for football abroad.
“We remain resolute and state in the strongest terms our determination to eradicate all forms of violence and unsportsmanlike conduct in stadiums on the continent.”
In the meantime, the Algerian interior ministry has ordered an investigation in to the incident.
The Tizi Ouzou stadium is shut down indefinitely while the board members of the Algerian National Professional League conduct their own investigation of the incident, which started Monday.
Based on his contract, the federation has lined up $100,000 to be given to Ebosse’s family.
Tizi Ouzou Hospital transferred Ebosse’s body to an Algerian military hospital, which will make arrangement for him to be flown to his homeland in Cameroon.
Ebosse will be remembered for his “big human qualities,” which won the heart of many in the North African country.
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