Port Vale striker banned for one game after ‘Rothschilds’ tweet

Port Vale striker Tom Pope has been banned for one game due to “improper” Twitter comments, the Football Association has announced.

The 34-year-old has also been fined £1,500 after a breach of FA Rule E3 was found proven by an independent regulatory commission.

The PA news agency understands that this is a separate matter to social media activity from Pope earlier this month which the FA is continuing to look into.

On January 6, Pope apologised for a tweet he sent when asked to “predict the WWIII result” after scoring in his side’s 4-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.

His reply, which was later deleted, read: “We invade Iran then Cuba then North Korea then the Rothchilds (sic) are crowned champions of every bank on the planet.”

A statement from Pope published by his club stated that he was “unaware of any link between the Rothschild family and the Jewish community”.

Pope had previously created a storm on social media after his goal in the third-round FA Cup tie at the Etihad Stadium backed up his pre-match bravado in a personal battle with City defender John Stones.

Last summer Pope mocked Stones in a tweet, claiming he would score 40 goals a season if he faced the England international every week.

In a follow-up post after the match, Pope joked: “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.”

Port Vale reported the news of Pope’s ban on their website but added that the club would be making no further comment.