CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court confirmed on Saturday death sentences on 21 soccer fans for their role in a stadium riot in Port Said last year, a case which has provoked deadly clashes in the Suez Canal city.

The stadium deaths occurred in February 2012 at the end of a match between Cairo's Al-Ahly and Al-Masry, the local side, and have been a flashpoint for protests.

In a ruling on live TV, the court also sentenced five more people to life in jail for the riot.

Rioting after the death sentences were originally announced has underlined worsening security in Egyptian cities since the 2011 overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.

(reporting by Marwa Awad; editing by David Stamp)