American Journalist Dies in Qatar, Brother Claims Murder For Gay Pride Shirt

American journalist Grant Wahl has died while covering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He was 48 years old. 

Wahl, who covered American and world soccer on his Substack, CBS Sports, NBC News and previously worked for Sports Illustrated, was ‘healthy’ before he collapsed during a game Friday, according to brother Eric in an Instagram video he posted.

His agent, Tim Scanlan, told the New York Times that Wahl had gone into acute distress in the final minutes of a quarterfinal match, which he was covering from the press tribune.

US media seated near him said Wahl fell back in his seat in the media tribune at Lusail Iconic Stadium during extra time and reporters adjacent to him called for assistance. Emergency services workers responded very quickly, the reporters said, and his colleagues were later told that he had died. 

Rafael Cores, a journalist for Univision who was sitting next to Wahl at the match, wrote: ‘He was working on his story on his laptop, it was about 4 minutes before the end of the extra time. He was laughing at a joke we saw on Twitter only minutes earlier. I can’t believe it. My deepest condolences to Grant Wahl’s family.’

His brother Eric, who is gay, said through tears that he believes his brother – who had been detained before the United States’ tournament opener against Wales for wearing a rainbow flag shirt – may have been killed.

Wahl’s brother said: ‘I am the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the world cup. I do not believe my brother just died, I believe he was killed.’

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