Guilty verdict sparks deadly protest

CAIRO (AP):The director of hospitals in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Port Said says two soccer players are among the 27 people killed in riots there.

Violence erupted in Port Said after a judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection with a February 1 soccer melee that killed 74 fans of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly team.

Dr Abdel-Raham Farah says Mahmoud Abdel-Halim al-Dizawi, a soccer player in Port Said's Al-Marikh club, was shot three times and died.

He says Tamer al-Fahla, a soccer player who used to play for the city's main Al-Masry team, was also shot dead on his way to Al-Marikh club.

The club is near a prison which supporters of the defendants tried to storm. The supporters also attacked police stations.

The 21 were sentenced over riots which killed 74 people after a football game at Port Said stadium last February.

All 21 defendants were fans of Port Said club al-Masry. When the verdicts were announced by a judge in the Cairo court, relatives of victims cheered.

However, the ruling caused supporters of the defendants to go on a rampage in Port Said. Two police officers were shot dead outside the city's prison.

At least another 24 people were killed and about 300 were wounded in further clashes, officials said.

The military has been deployed to try and restore security.

Saturday's violence followed a day of unrest on the second anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

Thousands of people took to the streets last Friday to voice their opposition to Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, accusing him of betraying the revolution.

At least seven people were killed and more than 450 wounded in unrest across Egypt.