CAPE TOWN – The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has called for "exemplary sanctions” following the death of JS Kabylie striker Albert Ebosse, (pictured) who was killed by a projectile thrown from the crowd in an Algerian league match on Saturday.

The Cameroon forward was struck on the head by an object allegedly thrown from a section of his club’s own fans as the players left the field at the end of a 2-1 defeat to USM Alger in Tizi Ouzou, a match in which he had scored his side’s goal.

JS Kabylie confirmed in a statement posted on the club’s website that he had passed away in hospital later on Saturday, though they did not confirm the exact cause of death.

Caf president Issa Hayatou reacted by calling for member associations to act strongly against fan violence and for the perpetrators of this incident to be dealt with in the strongest possible terms.

"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,” Hayatou said in a statement on Sunday.

"African football cannot be the breeding ground for hooliganism whatsoever. We expect exemplary sanctions to be taken against this grave act of violence. Violence has no place in African football in particular and sports in general. Agencies

The 24-year-old Ebosse was the leading scorer in the Algerian league in the 2013-14 season with 17 goals having played the previous season in Malaysia.