Veltman also disclosed the words he uttered to Rice during a tense exchange.
Declan Rice was sent off, and Brighton defender Joel Veltman said he thought it was “quite harsh” and that he was “amazed” by the Arsenal player’s response.
Last month at the Emirates, with the Gunners leading 1-0 against the Seagulls, England midfielder Rice, 25, was sent off.
3Joel Veltman has spoken out about Declan Rice’s red card
3Rice was dismissed for kicking the ball away before Veltman followed through on to his legCredit: Getty
Rice remonstrated with the dismissal but the Premier League later confirmed it was the correct decisionCredit: Reuters
After that, the Dutch right-back lost the ball and tackled the Arsenal player, but referee Chris Kavanagh saw Rice’s cunning playmaking and sent him out.
After examining the red, the Premier League’s “Key Match Incident” team concluded that the choice was appropriate.
“For me, it goes really far, with like comments on social media,” he remarked in an interview with Sky Sports.
“I don’t want to talk too much about it because we have a new game day approaching.
“All I can say is that I was not in the mood to kick him. Simply put, I kicked him after he kicked it away.”
Veltman also commended Rice for his post-match remarks, in which he acknowledged that the rules of the game required him to be sent out.
“I think he gave an amazing comment,” Veltman continued. That, in my opinion, is what most shocked me about him—his subsequent media comments.
Rice, who is now suspended for this Sunday’s North London derby, told the club website: “I was sh/o/c/k/e/d, I think you could see in my face I was shocked.
“Clearly, he’s gone over…
“I used my outside foot to make contact with the ball. But observe, these are the rules of the game.
“If you touch ball away, even a little bit, obviously it’s a red card after my challenge in the first half which I fully accept was a 50-50 that I didn’t win.”