AEK Athens were due to play Aris and PAOK were to take on Olympiacos in the battle for the second and final Champions League spot.

However, the matches were this afternoon called off with no new date set.

Police made the move against a backdrop of ongoing protests with an estimated 100,000 people spilling onto the streets of Athens during a nationwide general strike in reaction to Greece's desperate attempts to avoid bankruptcy.

Demonstrations have turned violent, with protesters trying to storm parliament and clashing with police in extensive riots that saw banks, shops and hotel windows smashed and two buildings burned.

Three people - including a pregnant woman - died when they were trapped in a bank set ablaze by protesters.