Algerian soccer club faces more sanctions after player killed by object thrown by fan

ALGIERS, Algeria – An Algerian football club has been banned from using its home stadium and could be thrown out of national and international competitions after one of its players was hit and killed by an object thrown by fans.

The Confederation of African Football on Tuesday backed a decision by Algerian authorities to stop JS Kabylie from playing at November 1 Stadium in the northern city of Tizi Ouzou, where Kabylie striker Albert Ebosse, a Cameroonian, was fatally hit at a game on Saturday.

CAF, the Algeria Football Federation and the Algerian professional league said it was only the first sanction for Kabylie and more would follow.

CAF agreed with the Algerian bodies' statements that Kabylie, which finished runner-up in the top league last season, could also be thrown out of national competitions as well as the African Champions League, which is run by CAF.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter called for "exemplary punishments."

"It is intolerable that a spectator caused the death of a player," Blatter said in a statement.

The 24-year-old Ebosse was hit by a "sharp object," CAF said, as he was walking off the field following his team's 2-1 loss at home to champion USM Alger on Saturday night. The object appeared to be a rock and was apparently thrown by a section of home fans who were angry at the defeat. Ebosse suffered a head trauma and internal bleeding and died at the hospital.

A police investigation was ordered by Algeria's interior ministry and JS Kabylie cannot play in the region of Tizi Ouzou while Ebosse's death is investigated.

Algerian professional football league president Mahfoud Kerbadj and new national team coach Christian Gourcuff were both at the game.

League matches scheduled for this weekend were canceled as a mark of respect for Ebosse, whose body was being kept at a military hospital before being repatriated to Cameroon.