Soccer player investigated for offensive conspiracy tweet

Posted January 06, 2020 6:00 am

The Associated Press

Port Vale's Tom Pope, left, scores his side's first goal of the game during the English FA Cup third round soccer match between Manchester City and Port Vale at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP) The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - The English Football Association asked a professional soccer player Monday to explain why he tweeted comments that could be construed as anti-Semitic.

Fourth-tier club Port Vale also launched an internal investigation into Tom Pope's early Sunday post about the Rothschilds after he scored a goal at Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup.

Pope had been asked on Twitter to 'œpredict the WWIII result," a reference to American tensions with Iran.

'œWe invade Iran then Cuba then North Korea then the Rothchilds (sic) are crowned champions of every bank on the planet," the striker replied.

The Rothschilds, a French Jewish family whose banking connections date to the 18th century, are a frequent target of offensive global conspiracy theories.

Port Vale said it had been asked by the FA for Pope's 'œobservations'ť on the tweet. The club issued a statement on Monday from the player distancing himself from anti-Semitism.

'œFollowing the reaction to my response on Twitter about the Rothschilds, I was unaware of any link between the Rothschild family and the Jewish community," Pope said. 'œIf I have caused offense to anyone, I'd like to apologize enormously as this was never my intention.'ť

But in response to criticism on Sunday, Pope reiterated the offensive comments.

'œRacist??'ť he tweeted, saying again the Rothchilds 'œown'ť the banks.

Pope scored his team's only goal in a 4-1 loss to Manchester City.

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Manchester City's Taylor Harwood-Bellis, left, and Joao Cancelo battle for the ball with Port Vale's Tom Pope, right, during the English FA Cup third round soccer match between Manchester City and Port Vale at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP) The Associated Press

Port Vale's Tom Pope, left, celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game with teammate Leon Legge during the English FA Cup third round soccer match between Manchester City and Port Vale at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP) The Associated Press

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