Update: Investigations begin in the death of Ebosse

Albert Ebosse, a Cameroonian striker who played for JS Kabylie in the Algerian top flight, reportedly died from injuries sustained after he was struck by a projectile in a match against USM Alger on Saturday, per ESPN FC.

The 24-year-old striker scored the lone goal for JS Kabylie in what proved to be a 2-1 defeat. At the end of the match, Ebosse was hit in the head by an object thrown from the stands.

Kabylie released a statement about the incident: “The Ministry of Interior and Local Government, speaking through minister Tayeb Belaiz, has given an instruction to open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Albert Ebosse. The JSK player succumbed to a head injury after being hit in the head at the end of the meeting with USM Alger.”

USM Alger also released a statement: “JS Kabylie's Cameroonian striker has lost his life after being hit in the head by something launched from the stands. This terrible news is saddening for football in our nation and in Cameroon and arrives like a bombshell just hours after the meeting with USM Alger which was played in Tizi Ouzou. In these painful circumstances, USM Alger and its members send their deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and to JS Kabylie. May Albert Ebosse rest in peace.”

The throwing of projectiles at football matches is a problem far from unique only to African football.

Cristiano Ronaldo was struck by a lighter in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal against Atletico Madrid. Ronaldo wasn't the first Real Madrid player targeted by someone in the stands, either. Barcelona fans famously flung a pig's head at Luis Figo after his move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Landon Donovan has been the target of Mexican fans in the past when the United States national team traveled down south. According to David Whitley of Sporting News, fans threw "containers holding urine and vomit" at the U.S. star.

Rarely do you read of the issue becoming this tragic, though. It is somewhat similar to an incident in 2013 in which a 14-year-old Bolivian child was killed by a flare launched by a Corinthians supporter, who was celebrating a goal in a Copa Libertadores match.

Ebosse has spent his football career traversing the globe, spending a few years in Cameroon before moving to Malaysia to play for Perak FA in 2012. In 2013, he moved a little closer to home, joining Kabylie.

According to Transfermarkt, he scored 19 goals in 32 league appearances.