United and fans made to wait for victory parade

(CNN) -- For star striker Cristiano Ronaldo it was "the happiest day of my life."

The more than 20,000 Manchester United fans who traveled to Moscow see their side pip Chelsea on penalties in the Champions League could only agree.

They danced with joy through Moscow's streets after Wednesday night's final pushed into Thursday morning local time -- the latest ever finish in a Champions League decider.

However, the Red Devils' fans will not be able to celebrate too much when they return home Thursday.

A homecoming parade for the team will not be held until later in the summer after violence flared in Manchester following last week's UEFA Cup Final between Glasgow Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg. In ugly scenes, Rangers fans fought pitched battles with police.

Watch Manchester United fans celebrate »

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed Thursday that there would not be a victory parade in the city following the match.

"Early last week GMP was approached regarding proposals to celebrate Manchester United's success this season. It is important to point out that no homecoming parade or event has ever been planned for this Thursday," Assistant Chief Constable Dave Thompson said.

Watch Man Utd and Chelsea players speak after the match »

Police and Manchester city councils had been discussing proposals for a parade, he said.

"As a result of these outline proposals a review was carried out to assess the viability of an event and it was decided that a parade could not take place on Thursday because of the serious risk to public safety and major disruption to the rest of the community on what is a normal working and shopping day."

Thompson said their primary concern was safety.

"It is right and fitting that fans should have the chance to celebrate the club's success this year... but they should do this in safety.

"The last major homecoming event was in 1999, where there were serious safety issues raised regarding the risks of crowd crush," Thompson said.

He said police believed the latest win would attract even more people than in 1999. Watch CNN's Don Riddell sum up the match »

"We have agreed to work towards an event in the summer where those celebrations could take place in safety. We remain committed to work with partners towards a suitable and safe celebration for all fans."

However, in Moscow police reported no major problems after the match.

They launched an unprecedented security operation with more than 14,500 staff and bused fans directly from airports to the Luzhniki Stadium.

Rival supporters were also steered into separate areas in the build-up to kick-off.

Back in England, though, riot police arrested 12 people after violence erupted near Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium in London.

The 12 were being held on suspicion of public order offences and there were no reports of any injuries, police said.

The violence broke out after around 200 fans gathered near a tube station a short distance from Stamford Bridge.

Manchester police said there were four arrests relating to drunken disorderly behavior outside Old Trafford after the match.

The match was the first time two English clubs had reached the final of European football's premier competition.

It was United's third win following victories in 1968 over Benfica and 1999 against Bayern Munich. It was Chelsea's first appearance in the competition's final.

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