Prominent American journalist, Grant Wahl has d!ed in Qatar after collapsing while covering the World Cup.
He collapsed in the press area while covering Argentina-Netherlands match, on Friday, December 9.
US media representatives seated near him, said Wahl fell back in his seat in the press box at Lusail Iconic Stadium during extra time and reporters adjacent to him called for assistance. Emergency services workers responded very quickly, the reporters said. Sadly, they were later were told that Wahl had d!ed.
Wahl made headlines in November by reporting that he was detained and briefly refused entry to a World Cup match because he was wearing a rainbow t-shirt in support of LGBTQ rights.
He said security staff had told him to change his shirt because “it’s not allowed,” and had taken his phone. Wahl said he was released 25 minutes after being detained and received apologies from a FIFA representative and a senior member of the security team at the stadium.
Wahl had covered soccer for more than two decades, including 11 World Cups, and authored several books on the sport, according to his website.
The circumstances around his death are not clear but he was 48 years old, according to a statement from his former longtime employer Sports Illustrated.
“The entire US Soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl,” US Soccer said in a statement on its official Twitter account.
“Grant made soccer his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us.”
US Soccer praised Wahl’s passion and “belief in the power of the game to advance human rights,” and shared its condolences with Wahl’s wife, Celine Gounder, and his loved ones.
Gounder also posted the US Soccer statement on Twitter.
“I am so thankful for the support of my husband Grant Wahl’s soccer family and of so many friends who’ve reached out tonight. I’m in complete shock,” wrote Gounder, a former CNN contributor.
In an episode of the podcast Futbol with Grant Wahl, published just days before his death on December 6, he had complained of feeling unwell.
