Grant Wahl, a well-known American sports journalist, who had been talked about recently after his detention in Qatar for wearing a rainbow T-shirt, died on Friday, December 9, in Doha, announced his wife and the United States Soccer Federation.
Grant Wahl, aged 48, who had worked for the famous magazine Sports Illustrated as a football pundit before joining CBS Sports in 2021, died while covering the quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands. According to American radio NPR, he collapsed in the press box as the match drew to a close. Medical personnel practiced first aid before carrying her away on a stretcher. According to the American daily The Wall Street JournalWahl apparently succumbed to a heart attack.
” I’m completely in shock »
The journalist was married to Doctor Celine Gounder, a renowned infectious disease specialist who appeared on television several times during the Covid-19 pandemic. ” I’m completely in shock “, she tweeted. For his part, State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted shortly afterwards: We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Grant Wahl “, adding that the American authorities were” in close communication ” with her family.
We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Grant Wahl and send our condolences to his family, with whom we have been in close communication. We are engaged with senior Qatari officials to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible.
—Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) December 10, 2022
“ We are in contact with senior Qatari officials to ensure that his family’s wishes are granted as quickly as possible. added Mr. Price. Mr. Wahl told subscribers to his internet newsletter a few days ago that he had visited a clinic in the media center in Qatar “ and they said I probably had bronchitis “. ” My body finally gave up on me. Three weeks with little sleep, lots of stress and work can have this effect on you. […] I could feel my upper chest bearing a new level of pressure and discomfort. “, he described.
He also specified that taking antibiotics and ” a powerful cough syrup “had it” makes me feel a little better after a few hours. But it’s always : No bueno”.
” We are devastated »
“ Grant had made football his life’s work and we are devastated that he and his brilliant pen are no longer with us. “wrote the Federation in a press release, stressing that” the whole football family in the United States (had) broken heart by his death. Wahl had been held up on November 21 by security personnel in Qatar because, he explained on Twitter, he wore a rainbow T-shirt to the game between the United States and Wales, to support LGBT+ rights. Same-sex relations are criminalized in Qatar.
In 1996 he joined the editorial staff of Sports Illustrated – at the time America’s number one sports publication – to write about football. He stayed there until 2020 and started working at CBS Sports the following year. The announcement of his death sparked many reactions around the world. ” Fans of the finest football and journalism knew Grant could be counted on to deliver insightful and thrilling stories about the sport and its greatest protagonists: teams, players, coaches and all those who make football a sport apart “, has reported US Soccer.
In a statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the ” sincere condolences “of the governing body of world football and the” soccer community to his wife, family and friends.
(With AFP)