April 10 – Albert Ebosse, the Cameroon striker who died following a match in Algeria last August – ostensibly from injuries sustained by an object thrown from the stands – was murdered, according to his father.
Ebosse was just 25 when he was tragically struck on the head after JS Kabylie lost to USM Alger in the Algerian top division, with JS Kabylie subsequently banned from playing at home for the 2014-2015 season.
Reports at the time said he was hit by a stone or rock apparently thrown from a section occupied by his own fans following the game in which he had scored Kabylie’s only goal in a 2-1 defeat. In the 2013-14 season he was the leading scorer in the Algerian league with 17 goals and was apparently on the verge of an international call-up.
In a fresh interview with the BBC, his father painted a different picture of the circumstances surrounding his death.
“It wasn’t a rock. It wasn’t a seizure. My son was murdered,” Andre Bodjongo said. “Since my son was killed, neither the president of JS Kabylie, not even any of his team-mates have sent me their condolences. Nobody has called me from the club, nobody.”
The BBC report said the pathologist who carried out post-mortem tests in Ebosse’s home country of Cameroon revealed that although he received a blow to the head he also suffered upper body injuries which indicated “signs of struggle”.
Algeria’s Ministry of Justice opened an inquest into Ebosse’s death on December 19, but the results have not been published.
Ebosse’s father now wants the Confederation of African Football and FIFA to get involved. “All I want there to be is justice. Those responsible for world football, they should make sure that football stays as a sport and not a war. If investigations are done properly they will find out who killed Albert.”
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