FIFA said in a statement that the FIFA Emergency Committee decided to suspend the Greece football federation(HFF), having determined that the situation of the HFF is not in line with the principles of the FIFA Statutes regarding "the independence of member associations and the independence of the decision-making process of the football-governing body" in each country.

"In September 2005, the FIFA Executive Committee gave the HFF a deadline of 15 July 2006 to obtain from the Greek government an amendment to the national law on sports in order to enable the association to be in conformity with the FIFA Statutes and the relevant UEFA regulations," the statement said.

"In spite of repeated warnings from both FIFA and UEFA, the commitment expressed by Greek government representatives to amend the law on sport to irrevocably recognize that football matters can only be decided by the HFF and its subordinated football structures has not been respected," it added.

The international football body also warned that all Greek clubs and officials are now covered by the suspension until the law is amended.

However, Greek Deputy Culture Minister for Sport George Orfanos disclosed that the issue will come to an end next week and that there is no danger of Greek clubs being expelled from European competitions