Fans throng Wembley for cup final

Crowds of fans gathered at Wembley for the FA Cup final

Thousands of football fans descended on London to see Portsmouth take on Cardiff in the FA Cup final.

Both clubs sold their allocation of 25,000 tickets and more fans headed to the capital to soak up the atmosphere in bars and pubs.

More than 1,000 police officers were drafted in to ensure the match at Wembley passed off peacefully.

The game was won 1-0 by Portsmouth, who lift the famous trophy for only the second time in their history.

The match was three days after Rangers fans and police in Manchester clashed following the Uefa Cup final.

Public transport

The violence flared when 200,000 fans converged on the city for the match, which Rangers lost 2-0 to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg.

There will be an operation to clamp down on the small minority of people who may be coming along thinking about committing crime and disorder Metropolitan Police spokesman In Pictures: FA Cup fans

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said officers worked with the British Transport Police (BTP) to ensure troublemakers did not spoil the FA Cup final.

A total of 1,200 officers were on duty to manage crowds and BTP officers travelled on trains to London from Cardiff and Portsmouth.

Bins were set up outside London Underground stations to allow fans to discard their cans and bottles of alcohol.

Portsmouth last featured in an FA Cup final 69 years ago, while Cardiff played their only final in 1927.

Cardiff fans travelled many miles to get to Wembley

In Cardiff, up to 7,000 fans who could not make the game were able to watch all the action on a big screen in Roald Dahl Plas in Cardiff Bay.

And up to 60,000 people gathered on Southsea Common in Portsmouth to watch the game on a screen put up there.

On Friday, Manchester City Council announced Manchester United's homecoming parade following next week's Champions League final had been postponed.

The council said the Uefa Cup final violence had been a factor in the decision.

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