[Watch] FIFA World Cup: US Journalist Dies Days After Brief Detention in Qatar

By OB Bureau On Dec 10, 2022

New Delhi: US journalist Grant Wahl, one of the most well-known soccer writers in the country, died on Saturday while covering the football World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands, days after he was detained in the host country Qatar for wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ community. Grant’s brother has suspected foul play and alleged that the Qatari government may have been involved in the death of the former Sports Illustrated journalist.

Grant, 48, collapsed while covering the quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Friday.

At the start of the World Cup, Wahl had said World Cup security denied him entry to the United States opener against Wales at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and asked him to take his shirt off. He said his phone was taken away when he tweeted about the incident.

He added that a security official at the venue approached him later to apologise and allowed him into the stadium. He also received an apology from a FIFA representative, he had said.

Just now: Security guard refusing to let me into the stadium for USA-Wales. “You have to change your shirt. It’s not allowed.” pic.twitter.com/TvSGThMYq8

— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) November 21, 2022

“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington. I am Grant Wahl’s brother. I’m gay,” he said in a video posted on Instagram. “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed. And I just beg for any help.”

This is a video posted to the Instagram account of Eric Wahl, saying that he is Grant Wahl’s brother.

In the video, he said he is the reason Grant wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup & that he believes Grant was killed. (Instagram: @eewahl) pic.twitter.com/krOoXuSjVc

— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) December 10, 2022

It is still unclear whether Grant died at the hospital or during transport.

“We’re still trying to find out,” Eric said. “He collapsed at the stadium, was given cpr, was taken by Uber to hospital and died according to Celine. We just spoke with the state department and Celine has spoken to Ron Klain and the White House.”

Earlier this week, Grant had said in his newsletter that he had gone to a clinic at the media centre in Qatar for a check-up. The doctors there said, “I probably have bronchitis”.

“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you… I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort,” Grant wrote in his newsletter.

He said he was “feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno.”