Joel Veltman became a villain to Arsenal fans for his role in Declan Rice receiving a red card against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Gunners had gotten off to a great start to the 2024/25 season, winning their first two games against Wolves and Aston Villa.
Brighton then came to the Emirates in the final game before the international break, and Arsenal seemed to be in total control of proceedings.
But, Rice’s red card just a few minutes into the second half changed everything.
Joel Veltman delivers honest verdict on Declan Rice’s red card during Arsenal vs Brighton
Rice was sent off after being judged to have delayed a restart when he tapped a moving ball.
Veltman used that opportunity to kick Rice, and to everyone’s surprise – perhaps even the Brighton defender’s – Chris Kavanagh gave the Arsenal star his marching orders.
Veltman has now made it clear that he didn’t ask the referee to give another yellow card to Rice after the incident.
The Dutchman also admitted that the sending-off was ‘harsh’ and seemed really impressed by how Rice accepted his mistake in front of the media after the game.
Veltman hailed the Arsenal midfielder for having an ‘amazing’ personality.
He told Sky Sports: “The only thing I can say is I didn’t want to kick him. He just kicked it (ball) away and I kicked him. I find it (red card) quite harsh as well.
“If you see my reaction, you can look it back, I was not going to the ref to ask for a second yellow. I was going to him (Rice) and was like ‘why did you kick it and sorry I kicked you’.
“I think he gave an amazing comment. I think that’s what personally surprised me about him, how he commented in the media after the game.
“He said like ‘I don’t need to kick it, I need to know better’. That’s an amazing personality, I think, from him.”
READ MORE: Arsenal’s rivals are now ‘demanding’ one thing from referees after ‘joke’ Declan Rice red card
Premier League panel deliver verdict on Rice’s red card
The Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel was set up to review the big refereeing decisions in the Premier League every week.
The board reviewed the incident that led to Rice’s dismissal, and much to Arsenal fans’ anger and frustration, they agreed that the midfielder should have been sent off.
The KMI said: “Rice knows what he’s doing – it’s a gentle touch, but once the referee sees it he has no choice.”
It was further claimed that Rice’s actions were “clear, deliberate and impactful”, so the yellow card issued was the correct decision.
That, in our opinion, is absolutely ridiculous, especially as players will do this at least five times every game and will still go unpunished.
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