AS Roma beat 10-man Feyenoord Rotterdam 2-1 in a highly charged Europa League match on Thursday that was briefly suspended twice because of yet more fan trouble.
The match was suspended early in the second half because of crowd trouble with the Italian side leading 1-0.
The referee led the teams off the pitch in the 55th minute after the home fans threw objects onto the pitch, including a giant plastic banana.
Photo: Reuters
The teams returned about 10 minutes later and the last-32 second-leg match in Rotterdam resumed.
Fresh off helping Ivory Coast to the African Cup of Nations title, Gervinho scored the winner for Roma from close range on the hour mark. Roma advanced 3-2 on aggregate.
Following a straight red card to Feyenoord’s Mitchell te Vrede, French referee Clement Turpin briefly halted the match in the second half because of objects thrown onto the pitch.
“It doesn’t help the club, and I’ll never cheer that,” Feyenoord coach Fred Rutten said. “Those sorts of things only hurt Feyenoord. It’s a shame it happened.”
Turpin also briefly stopped proceedings in the first half after an inflatable banana was launched onto the field.
Feyenoord reserve goalkeeper Erwin Mulder was also sent off from the bench in the 59th following an apparent argument with officials.
Earlier, Rotterdam police detained 17 locals and five Italians ahead of the game.
Police spokesman Gijs van Nimwegen said the fans were held for a variety of offenses, including fighting, possession of fireworks and not following police orders.
He said two people were found to be carrying knives, but could not say what nationality they were.
“It has been very busy for the police,” Van Nimwegen said. “We have put a lot of energy into stopping fights... If we had done nothing, there could have been a lot of fighting.”
Police were bent on avoiding a repeat of last week’s violence in Rome. Police on horseback led hundreds of Roma fans to the Stadion Feijenoord for the late evening kickoff.
Feyenoord fans rioted in Rome before the last-32, first-leg game, clashing with police, damaging a recently renovated fountain and leaving part of the city’s historic center strewn with beer cans and smashed bottles. The match ended 1-1, setting up a tense return leg.
Meanwhile, Dynamo Kiev playing at home eliminated tiny French club En Avant de Guingamp with a 3-1 win that appeared in jeopardy when the match was suspended briefly in the second half due to unruly fans.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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