Greek Cup cancelled after violence mars PAOK Salonika v Olympiakos game

The Greek government has cancelled the Greek Cup due to the violence that marred the semi-final between PAOK Salonika and Olympiakos on Wednesday.

The first-leg fixture had to be abandoned because of crowd trouble that started after PAOK had a penalty appeal rejected and riot police were called in to clear the pitch of missile-hurling fans.

"In view of this mayhem in football grounds and a huge disturbance of the social peace and legal order in general, the government has decided to definitively cancel any process and match related to the Greek Cup as provided for by the law," a government statement read.

"The government is closely monitoring developments and those who do not take seriously our policies should be aware that we will not hesitate to make further decisions on these matters."

Olympiakos' Super League game against Iraklis and champions Olympiakos, scheduled for Sunday, has also been postponed on the orders of the country's Deputy Sports Minister Stavros Kontonis after a request by police.

Kontonis accepted a request by police to call off the game in the northern city of Thessaloniki because of a lack of available officers and a fear of violence.

Police said their staff had been depleted due to great numbers of officers being deployed to the northern Greek border town of Eidomeni, where thousands of migrants are gathered waiting to cross the border into Macedonia.

The match will be rescheduled at a later date.