Tom Pope: FA & Port Vale investigate tweet sent by forward
- Published
Tom Pope has played for Port Vale since 2017
A social media post made by Port Vale striker Tom Pope is being investigated by both the Football Association and the League Two club.
The 34-year-old, who scored in Saturday's 4-1 FA Cup defeat at Manchester City, was asked on Twitter to predict the outcome in a World War Three scenario.
Pope finished a since-deleted tweet by saying: "the Rothchilds [sic] are crowned champions of every bank on the planet - the end".
Some Twitter users suggested Sunday's tweet - a reference to the Jewish Rothschild banking family - was anti-Semitic.
In a statement, Pope said he apologised "enormously", external if he had caused offence.
Pope said he was "unaware of any link between the Rothschild family and the Jewish community".
On Sunday, when asked what would happen in the event of World War Three, the forward wrote: "We invade Iran then Cuba then North Korea then the Rothchilds are crowned champions of every bank on the planet - the end."
After some Twitter users accused him of anti-Semitism, Pope replied: "How is it racist??
"Seriously is someone out to destroy me or what? Someone asked how does WW3 end and I replied when said countries were invaded and they have all the banks!! What's the problem with that? Seriously??"
The FA will now discuss the matter with Pope before deciding whether to take action, while Port Vale will conduct their own investigation.
It is not the first time Pope's tweets have created debate.
In June, after watching England lose to the Netherlands on television, the former Bury, Rotherham and Crewe forward wrote that he would "love to play against John Stones every week" and would score 40 goals a season if he did so.
After his goal against a Manchester City team containing Stones on Saturday - in a game Port Vale lost 4-1 - he made reference to that tweet and wrote: "I'd just like to say I was completely wrong and bang out of order to say I'd score 40 a season... it's more like 50."
He was also handed a one-match suspension by the FA in November for Twitter abuse.