Grant Wahl, a U.S. reporter covering the World Cup in Qatar who was harassed while wearing a rainbow shirt, has died suddenly, U.S. Soccer announced Friday.
He died in Doha, Qatar, while covering the Argentina-Netherlands World Cup quarterfinal for reasons that are not yet clear, but his brother explained on Instagram that Wahl was healthy and speculated he may have fallen victim to foul play.
WORLD CUP 2022: US REPORTER REFUSED ENTRY TO STADIUM FOR WEARING RAINBOW T-SHIRT
“I’m gay and 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,” Wahl’s brother said in an emotional Instagram post.
Absolutely bone chilling stuff
Soccer journalist Grant Wahl who was kicked out of a stadium in QATAR for this shirt has reportedly collapsed and passed away during the Argentina game today
His brother says on Instagram that Grant was fully healthy & believes there’s foul play pic.twitter.com/t47C2XfuVl
— JACK SETTLEMAN (@jacksettleman) December 10, 2022
Wahl made headlines last month when he described how a security guard informed him that his T-shirt with a rainbow surrounding a soccer ball was initially “not allowed” in Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, resulting in Wahl being detained for about 30 minutes. Eventually, officials relented and let him in. He blasted the encounter as an “unnecessary ordeal.”
Wahl’s wife, infectious disease physician Celine R. Gounder, who served on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board transition team, mourned his death and thanked everyone for their support.
I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl‘s soccer family & of so many friends who’ve reached out tonight.
I’m in complete shock. https://t.co/OB3IzOxGlE
— Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA ?? (@celinegounder) December 10, 2022
“I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl’s soccer family & of so many friends who’ve reached out tonight. I’m in complete shock,” she wrote on Twitter.
She also shared a statement from U.S. Soccer commemorating him.
“The entire U.S. Soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl. Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists: teams, players, coaches and the many personalities that make soccer unlike any sport,” U.S. Soccer said in a statement.
Free to read: What happened when Qatar World Cup security detained me for 25 minutes for wearing a t-shirt supporting LGBTQ rights, forcibly took my phone and angrily demanded that I remove my t-shirt to enter the stadium. (I refused.) Story: https://t.co/JKpXXETDkH pic.twitter.com/HEjr0xzxU5
— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) November 21, 2022
Qatar, which is hosting the 2022 World Cup, has fomented controversy for its domestic laws that clamp down on homosexuality. Some teams mused about wearing rainbow armbands in protest but were threatened with punishment by FIFA, the organizer, prompting most of them to cave.
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Wahl covered the soccer tournament with a critical eye on Qatar. One of his final Substack posts ripped the host country for its treatment of immigrant workers.
“They just don’t care. Qatari World Cup organizers don’t even hide their apathy over migrant worker deaths, including the most recent one,” he tweeted.
