Kicking + Screening founder Greg Lalas (center – left), Grant Wahl from Sports Illustrated (center – R). (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Budweiser)
Respected American soccer journalist Grant Wahl, who notably protested Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ laws at the World Cup, died suddenly dead Friday.
The football world has suffered a huge loss in Qatar with the sudden death of journalist Grant Wahl.
Wal was in Doha covering the World Cup. He had tweeted about the Netherlands-Argentina quarter-final match.
According to the Los Angeles TimesWahl “on the media tribune at Friday’s World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. Paramedics treated Wahl for about 30 minutes before removing him from the stadium on a stretcher. He was later pronounced dead on Saturday morning in a Qatari hospital.”
The cause of his death is currently unknown.
Football journalist Grant Wahl died suddenly at the World Cup in Qatar
Wahl had complained of illness during a media appearance on Thursday. He has spoken on a podcast about having “bronchitis” and needing to go to the medical tent on several occasions. However, he also said that he was feeling better after cutting back on his activities.
Wahl made headlines when he was denied entry to a stadium in Qatar while wearing a T-shirt supporting the LGBTQ+ community. He has also been an outspoken critic of the government’s handling of migrant workers during the build-up to the World Cup.
A recent article he published while at the World Cup highlighted those failures.
His brother, who is gay, posted a heartbreaking video after news of Wahl’s death broke. He said Wahl had received death threats, was in good health, and that the family suspected foul play.
The football community mourns the death of Grant Wahl on Twitter
The American soccer community was dumbfounded, saddened, and suspicious:
Wahl was 48 years old. He contributed cornerstone content to American sports journalism, including the famous “Chosen One” feature on young LeBron James. He was the leading voice on American football coverage. We will miss him.
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