article: Eleven football fans have had their death sentences upheld after a retrial over a stadium riot in Egypt which left 74 people dead. The riot erupted in February 2012 when supporters of home team Al-Masry - from the canal city of Port Said - and Cairo's Al-Ahly clashed after an Egyptian  league match between the two clubs. An appeals court ordered the retrial of 73 defendants last year after rejecting a lower court's verdict, which sentenced 21 people to death. Scroll down for video . Eleven football fans have had their death sentences upheld after a retrial over a stadium riot (pictured) in Egypt which left 74 people dead . The riot (pictured) erupted in February 2012 when supporters of home team Al-Masry - from the canal city of Port Said - and Cairo's Al-Ahly clashed after an Egyptian league match . The clashes in the Port Said stadium (pictured) sparked days of violent protests in Cairo, which led to another 16 deaths . Eleven of the fans were again sentenced to death today, with their verdicts referred to Egypt's supreme court, the Grand Mufti. The court will make a final decision on their fates, as well as those of the other defendants, on May 30. The 73 defendants include nine police officers and three officials from Al-Masry club, while the rest were fans of the team. Two of those sentenced to death are on the run. None of the families of the victims or of the defendants attended today's court session, which was held in Cairo for security reasons. The clashes in the Port Said stadium sparked days of violent protests in Cairo, in which another 16 people were killed in fighting with security forces. The football riots (pictured) were the deadliest ever seen in Egypt, where football fans regularly clash with rival supporters and security forces . An appeals court ordered the retrial of 73 defendants last year after rejecting a lower court's verdict, which sentenced 21 people to death over the riots (pictured) Egyptian policemen stand guard as families place portraits of those who died during a football match between Egyptian teams Al-Ahly and Al-Masri  in 2012 . A year later, dozens of people also died in the canal city during riots which started after the lower court handed down the 21 original death sentences. The football riots were the deadliest ever seen in Egypt, where football fans regularly clash with rival supporters and security forces. The authorities reacted by imposing a ban on fans attending  matches and held games behind closed doors. This year at least 22 people died in a stampede after police fired tear gas at fans trying to force their way into a stadium in Cairo, leading the authorities to suspend the Egyptian league. Television footage showed crowds of supporters squeezed inside a narrow metal enclosure, jostling to enter the stadium when the stampede began as police fired tear gas. The police blame the unrest on Islamists. Sixteen suspects accused of clashing with police on that day have been arrested and will face trial. Egypt's hardcore football fans, known as the 'ultras', often clash with police and were at the forefront of protests against former president Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in 2011.
highlights: Eleven Egyptian football fans face the death penalty over a riot in 2012 .
  Clashes after a match in Port Said left 74 dead and sparked more protests .
  Appeals courts last year ordered retrial after 21 fans given death sentence .
  Two of the 11 supporters given the death penalty today are still on the run .
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