Europa League clash between Feyenoord and Roma marred by crowd trouble

The Europa League last-32 second-leg tie between Feyenoord and Roma was overshadowed by crowd trouble - including an apparent incident of racism - with the referee stopping the match twice.

The game was briefly held up in the first half when an inflatable banana was thrown onto the pitch near Roma's Ivory Coast striker Gervinho. 

And on 55 minutes, with Roma 1-0 up, referee Clement Turpin took the players off the pitch for 10 minutes when trouble erupted in the stands following the controversial red card shown to Feyenoord's Mitchell Te Vrede for a challenge on Kostas Manolas.

Police arrested 42 fans on the night and the match was then played amid a hostile and intimidating atmosphere at De Kuip.

Eighty-three Roma fans were held at local police stations during the day but were all released and allowed to go to the game.

Dutch authorities were on high alert following the first-leg clash in Rome which saw Feyenoord fans clash with police, damage a recently renovated fountain and leaving part of the city's historic centre strewn with beer cans and smashed bottles. 

Goals from Adem Ljajic and Gervinho helped Roma seal a 2-1 win on the night and 3-2 aggregate victory following the 1-1 first-leg draw.

Te Vrede was on the pitch because the man he replaced, Colin Kazim-Richards, had gone off having earlier been hit in the face by Daniele De Rossi's arm.

De Rossi, who escaped punishment for that incident, had been attempting to block his opponent from challenging Roma keeper Lukasz Skorupski following a through-ball.

When the players eventually came back out after the suspension, there was immediate drama as Feyenoord equalised, Elvis Manu breaking through to slide a shot past Lukasz Skorupski.

As the home side celebrated that goal, Feyenoord reserve goalkeeper Erwin Mulder was shown a red card following a touchline incident.

Feyenoord's joy at equalising was short-lived, though, as Roma netted what would prove to be the decisive goal just three minutes later as Gervinho slotted past Kenneth Vermeer to make it 3-2 on aggregate.

With tensions remaining high in a match which saw objects regularly being thrown onto the pitch, Feyenoord pushed for a goal that even things up again on the night, but they could find no way past Skorupski.

Feyenoord's exit from the competition is unlikely to be the end of the matter for the Dutch side, though, with UEFA expected to launch an investigation into Thursday's incidents - they are currently awaiting the report from the match officials.

Arrests in Rotterdam currently at 42 after last night’s Feyenoord v Roma game.

UEFA is waiting for reports from the officials and security teams about the on-pitch problems. They will get those later and probably announce a full investigation.

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, speaking ahead of the last 16 draw on Friday, said: “Unfortunately we have to acknowledge, around the previous rounds of matches, scenes of violence and racism in and out of the stadiums that neither UEFA nor any true football fan can tolerate.

"That's why we call once again upon all stakeholders to unite and do their utmost to put a full stop to these despicable scenes that we don't want to see any more."