Merseyside Police has launched an investigation into misuse of the force's Twitter account after responses to football fans about rape sparked public outrage.
On Sunday, following Sunderland FC's 6-2 loss to Everton, one user tweeted police which said: "Hello. I'd like to report an incident of rape that occurred at Goodison Park, Liverpool, on November 1st at 3:00."
Twenty minutes later, the force responded: "Just confirm there was no actual rape for me? Sunderland certainly got caught with their pants down though."
Another user tweeted: "I'd like to report an incident that has been going on for ages. Chelsea get raped every match, can you help?"
The response was: "Afraid not, its not a criminal offence to lose week in week out."
The tweets has since been deleted following an outburst of angry tweets from members of the public.
Amy Platt tweeted: "Rape is not a joke! #merseysidepolice"
While Furhad Zaidi posted: "@MerseyPolice embarrassing. Whatever happened to common sense"
Jo Wood, from the Merseyside Rape and Sexual Abuse centre, said: "It's really bad news. We work with victims of sexual violence across Merseyside and I have been getting messages from survivors.
"I think it's a real shame. We work closely with Merseyside Police and we've come a long way. Something like this could set us back years.
"It's completely inappropriate. It's appalling and sends out completely the wrong message.
"There needs to be some sort of training put in place. Clearly this individual is not aware of the impact of what they did."
Merseyside Police said the messages will be investigated.
They said: "We would like to apologise for any offence caused by inappropriate tweets from the force account this afternoon. They do not reflect (1/3)
“The strenuous efforts made by Merseyside Police to investigate serious sexual crimes and protect victims. (2/3)”
“An full investigation has been launched into the inappropriate use of the Merseyside Police Twitter account."
