Roma’s Ivorian forward Gervinho has called on UEFA to impose sanctions against Feyenoord after their fans threw an inflatable banana at him during Thursday’s Europa League clash.

The inflatable banana was hurled in the direction of the Ivorian forward in the 37th minute of the game and the referee temporarily suspended the match.

"I didn’t notice at first," Gervinho was quoted as saying by Football-Italia.

"Then one of my teammates notified me, and the referee came and spoke to me.

"I think it presents a bad image for football, and I hope that sanctions are imposed, because it’s such a frustrating thing, not just for the person suffering it, but also for my family, who support me.”

In more positive news, the 27-year-old believed Roma still have a chance to win the Italian League, refusing to rule his side out of the Serie A title race.

Roma are second in the league table with 48 points, nine behind leaders Juventus.

"We’re nine points behind Juventus, the League is not over yet," Gervinho insisted in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Everything is still possible. We’ll fight with all our courage until the end; we’ll assess things at the end of the season."

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)