Police pleased with cup final first

Police say there was a carnival atmosphere in the city

Police say the biggest policing operation ever mounted for a sporting event in Wales was a huge success.

But there have been criticisms of transport arrangements and signposts for fans getting to and from the Worthington Cup final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

A lack of public transport led to more supporters making the journey by car and the kick-off had to be delayed as many - including England manager Sven Goran Eriksson - were held up in traffic.

The Football League said "lessons would be learned" from Sunday to improve the situation for fans travelling to Cardiff in future.

More than 700 police officers were drafted into the city for the match - the first soccer final to be held outside England.

There had been concerns that with two major clubs - Birmingham and Liverpool - meeting head to head, there could be trouble.

Chief Supt Gerry Toms : "Too many travelled by car"

There were additional worries that supporters of Cardiff City - last year placed fifth in a league table of clubs infamous for hooligan behaviour - could clash with the visiting fans.

But South Wales Police had been planning for the event for several months.

As soon as it was announced that the final was to be held in Cardiff while Wembley was being rebuilt, a major planning operation swung into action.

Officers liaised with those from other forces, visited matches involving a teams most likely to reach the final, and gathered intelligence from trained trouble-spotters.

On Sunday, uniformed officers drafted in from the teams' own force areas to help ease potential problems inside the ground.

Some cup final sights were a first for people in Cardiff

All leave was cancelled for South Wales Police officers to ensure that policing elsewhere in the force area was not neglected.

Those leading the operation said they were delighted with the way the operation worked.

"From a public order point of view, the operation worked very well indeed," said Chief Superintendent Gerry Toms, the man responsible for policing the event.

"The vast majority of people were there purely and simply to enjoy the match and the atmosphere, and the only problems which occurred were easily dealt with."

Violence had, however, flared on Saturday night, after hooligans rampaged through three city centre pubs.

Most supporters came simply to enjoy the match

A total of 16 people were arrested and nine others needed hospital treatment.

Match day itself was much quieter, according to police.

A few skirmishes were reported, but the crowds were generally good-humoured and the atmosphere in town was described as "carnival-like".

During the game, a further 10 people were arrested, bringing the total of football-related arrests over the weekend to 26.

As police held debriefing sessions for their staff on Monday, they said they would be using the lessons learned over the weekend for their next major sporting challenge - the FA Cup final in May.

They said they would also be liaising with rail and bus operators and the local authority over the issue of travel arrangements and signage of routes in and out of the city.

"The information received on which the council made their preparations was not exactly accurate," said Chief Supt Toms.

"There were too many cars, there were 250 coaches less than were expected, and there weren't enough people travelling by train because there weren't enough trains coming into Cardiff."

Football League chief executive David Burns has pledged to improve matters for fans in future.

He said delaying the kick-off had been "the correct thing to do".

"Overall I am absolutely delighted at the way the final went. It is such a magnificent stadium and the noise levels were incredible."