ATHENS, March 30: The Greek government suspended play in all professional team sports for two weeks on Friday after a fan was killed in a volleyball riot.

The ban, which covers soccer, basketball, volleyball and other sports, will last until April 13.

A man was killed and seven others were hospitalised on Thursday when fans from rival women's volleyball clubs Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus fought near Athens.

“Violence in sport is something that affects our entire society, and cannot be tolerated,” government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said on Friday after an emergency cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Roussopoulos also promised to tighten laws for violent fans, and introduce mandatory surveillance cameras at all main soccer stadiums by 2008. —AP