The opening round of the Greek soccer season, scheduled for the weekend, was postponed Saturday as a result of the ongoing deadly fires that have ravaged large parts of the country.

A statement released by the country’s top-tier Super League on Saturday said it had an obligation to call off the first round of play, which included a much-heralded encounter between Olympiakos, the defending champion, and its archrival Panathinaikos, yesterday.

The decision to postpone the league’s opening round was announced just hours ahead of three games scheduled for Saturday, all in the country’s north, where the country has remained largely unaffected by the fires.

“At a time when the country is going through a national tragedy, the postponement of the championship is obligatory,” said the Super League statement, adding that it had “decided to postpone all of the first round’s games.”

New dates for the postponed matches were not provided.