Qatar: US journalist Grant Wahl, who was briefly detained in Qatar for wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ community, died, his brother announced on Saturday.
Grant, 48, collapsed while covering the FIFA quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Friday.
According to media reports, Wahl suddenly lost consciousness while being seated in the press box at Lusail Iconic Stadium during extra time.
Emergency services were called in and quickly took Wahl to a hospital. It was later declared that the journalist had died.
Grant’s brother Eric in a video posted online on Friday announced his death while suspecting foul play.
“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington, I am Grant Wahl’s brother,” he said announcing his brother’s death.
“I am gay, I am 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.”
Eric Wahl, the brother of sportswriter Grant Wahl who died in Qatar while covering the World Cup, is asking for help.
Grant was detained in Qatar for wearing a rainbow shirt two weeks ago pic.twitter.com/lak0b1UZwa
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 10, 2022
Grant earlier said that the World Cup security denied him entry to the United States’ opener against Wales and asked him to take his rainbow shirt off at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan.
He added that his phone was taken away when he tweeted about the incident, later 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.
A few days earlier, in a blog, Wahl wrote about his visit to a medical clinic in Qatar due to high stress.
“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you,” Wahl wrote in the blog.
“What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”
“I didn’t have Covid (I test regularly here), but I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup, and I’m already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno.”