Brighton star Joel Veltman left red-faced after throwing shirt into crowd.. as generous act instantly backfired
RED-FACED Joel Veltman has sent an urgent SOS to one lucky Seagulls fan . . . as he desperately tries to track down his missing GPS!
The tiny Global Positioning System is worn by all Premier League players to track their movements throughout matches.
Brighton star Joel Veltman was left red-faced at Nottingham ForestRex
The crucial statistics they provide are analysed by clubs’ sports science staff and managers to assess their players’ movements on the pitch.
But Veltman lost his unit in the wild celebrations which followed ten-man Brighton’s gutsy win at Nottingham Forest, which ended their six-match winless Prem run.
And he has begged the lucky Brighton fan who has it to return it ASAP.
He said: “I was just so happy as we celebrated our win that I threw my shirt into the fans.
“The problem was that my GPS was still in it, so that was a bit sad for me. I went back to ask for it but they thought I wanted my shirt back and were long gone. I just wanted the GPS.”
Veltman had to laugh at the prospect of him handing in his GPS to club boffins — and their puzzlement over how he managed to record a top speed of 70mph for more than an hour as his monitor hurtled back towards Brighton on the M1.
While Veltman was losing his shirt, the most relieved man was Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk who had earlier lost his head.
Dunk was somehow yellow-carded then red-carded in the space of 12 seconds.
That was the shortest gap for a player receiving two bookings in a Prem game since Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli against Wolves in February 2022 as he was given his marching orders within four seconds.
The defender received an automatic yellow for crowding referee Anthony Taylor as he studied the pitchside monitor during a penalty check.
When Taylor decided Jack Hinshelwood HAD hauled down Callum Hudson-Odoi and pointed to the spot, Dunk lost the plot and was given a straight red for foul and abusive language.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored from the spot to spark a late Forest onslaught.
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Veltman accidentally threw his shirt along with his GPS tracker to the crowdRex
But the damage had been done as Brighton battled back from the loss of a third-minute opener from Anthony Elanga to take a 3-1 lead as Evan Ferguson equalised before Joao Pedro grabbed a double — including a penalty.
For Forest it was a first home loss in the league this season. Right-back Ola Aina said: “In the first half we let ourselves down and gave ourselves too much to do. We have to be more ruthless and nasty.”
HOW THEY LINED UP
NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Vlachodimos, Aina (Williams 90), Niakhate, Murillo, Toffolo, Mangala, Dominguez (Yates 69), Gibbs-White, Danilo (Hudson-Odoi 62), Elanga, Wood (Origi 63).
BRIGHTON: Verbruggen, Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Lamptey (Hinshelwood 35), Gross, Gilmour (Baleba 77), Adingra, Lallana (Buonanotte 46), Ansu Fati (Pedro 21), Ferguson (Moder 77).
