American soccer journalist Grant Wahl died early Saturday morning while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Lusail Stadium, Qatar.
Grant Wahl was tweeting about the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands less than five hours before news of his death broke on social media. Wahl was 48 years old.
On Monday, Grant Wahl wrote on social media about his ailing health, which necessitated him to visit a medical centre in Qatar.
“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you,” Grant Wahl wrote on Substack.
“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.”
Wahl added that he had tested negative for COVID-19, which he has been checked regularly since his arrival in Doha last month.
“I went into the medical clinic at the main media centre today, and they said I probably have bronchitis,” he added. “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.”
Grant Wahl’s wife, Dr Celine Gounder, a noted epidemiologist and infectious disease expert who worked on Joe Biden’s COVID-19 task force, confirmed the news 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,” she wrote.
The journalist’s brother Eric Wahl, who is gay, said, “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup,” he said in a video posted to Instagram shortly after his brother’s death.
“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.”
The US Soccer Federation said on Friday that it was “heartbroken” by Wahl’s death.
“We could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists,” the federation said in a statement.
“Grant’s belief in the power of the game to advance human rights was, and will remain, an inspiration to all. Grant made soccer his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us.”
“We thank Grant for his tremendous dedication to and impact on our game in the United States. His writing and the stories he told will live on.”
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the department was in close contact with Wahl’s family, and with senior Qatari officials, to make sure his family’s wishes were met as soon as possible.
On November 21, Wahl had worn a rainbow shirt in support of LGBTQ rights in the World Cup opener against Wales and wrote that he was refused entry by security and asked to remove the shirt.
Wahl said that FIFA later apologized to him for the incident, to which he said he was suspended for 25 minutes before he was allowed onto the field.
Wahl was among the most popular sports journalists in the United States.
In more than two decades at Sports Illustrated, he has reported on the rise of soccer in the United States and covered numerous NCAA tournaments, Olympic Games, and World Cups.
He also wrote The Beckham Experiment in 2009, a New York Times bestseller that detailed the impact of Beckham’s move to the United States.
On December 6, Wahl wrote that he was among 82 journalists honoured by FIFA and AIPS for attending eight or more World Cups.
Reaction to Wahl’s death has been pouring in on Twitter
