Joel Veltman has praised Declan Rice for his reaction to his red card against Brighton and called the sending-off ‘harsh’.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Declan Rice of Arsenal interacts with match referee Chris Kavanagh after being shown a second yellow card during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Emirates Stadium on August 31, 2024. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
A week and a half after Declan Rice’s red card against Brighton and Hove Albion, Joel Veltman has spoken to the media about the incident.
Veltman was the opponent directly involved in the clash, with Rice nudging the ball away from Veltman and the Brighton player kicking the Arsenal man with his follow-through.
The Dutch 32-year-old insists he didn’t mean to kick Rice, and that his reaction to the incident was to apologise rather than call for a red card.
Dermot Gallagher assessing Declan Rice’s clash with Joel Veltman (Photo via Sky Sports News)
“The only thing I can say [is that] I didn’t want to kick him,” Veltman claimed. “It’s just, he kicked it away, I kicked him.
“I find it (the red card) quite harsh as well, if you see my reaction.
“I was not going to the ref asking for a second yellow. I was going to [Rice] like ‘why did you kick it?’ and ‘I’m sorry I kicked you’.”
Veltman then added that he was impressed by Rice’s post-match interview, in which the midfielder took responsibility for his actions.
“I think [Rice] gave an amazing comment, I think that’s personally what surprised me about him,” Veltman said. “How he, commenting in the media after the game, he said ‘yeah, I don’t need to kick it, I need to know better’.
“That’s amazing personality, I think, from him.”
LONDON, ENGLAND: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, applauds the fans following the team’s victory during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Emirates Stadium on August 17, 2024. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Former referee Mark Halsey agreed with Veltman that the red card was harsh, in his assessment of the incident that weekend. In fact, the ex-ref suggested Veltman himself was fortunate to avoid punishment.
“The ball was rolling when Brighton’s Joel Veltman took the free-kick, so the restart would not have taken place as it would have been wrong in Law,” Halsey said. “Therefore, the delaying a restart does not apply.
“Kavanagh went looking for trouble and he found it. A referee of his calibre at this level should not be sending players off for this.
“He should have managed the situation better by speaking to both players. Rice should have received a final warning for flicking the ball away and Veltman was also lucky to escape punishment for kicking the England star.”
