The American sports reporter, Grant Wahl, who passed away in the cutter, where he was sent to cover the World Cup.
(Reuters)
"The US Embassy must intervene quickly, demand the body of Grant Wall and perform an autopsy on it." This demand and others in this spirit are being heard more and more today (Saturday) among American journalists who are convinced that the death of their colleague in Qatar was no accident. Wall collapsed in the
cell The journalists at the Bluesail Stadium, when he covered the match between Argentina and the Netherlands in the World Cup quarter-finals. Local paramedics rushed to give him life-saving treatment, but after about half an hour he was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead - a day after he turned 48.
Wall was a senior and well-known journalist, with his own website and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
He arrived in Qatar at the very beginning of the World Cup, tried to enter the games with a shirt with the colors of pride on it and refused.
In addition, he reported on behind-the-scenes malfunctions in the organization of the tournament and touched a lot on the indifference of the Qataris towards the death and suffering of foreign workers.
The authorities did not like his public attempts and he said he received threats during his stay in the country.
In the last few days Wall reported that he was not feeling well and yesterday he collapsed and died.
His brother, Eric Wall, said in tears: "I'm gay and my brother wore the shirt in Qatar in my honor. He was a healthy person, he told me that he received threats on his life. I don't believe he just died, I believe he was murdered."
Grant Wall (Photo: Reuters)
Many sports people paid tribute to Wall, from LeBron James, through Billie Jean King to FIFA chairman Gianni Infantino.
The US and England soccer teams also issued messages of condolence, but the real issue lies beneath the surface of these obituaries.
George Cheedy, a well-known journalist from Atlanta, tweeted: "The US State Department must bring up Grant's body Wall on a plane, without interruption, to the Walter Reed Hospital.
Yes, he probably died of natural causes.
But the memory of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is still too bright to ignore the fact that all possibilities should be explored."
A lawyer named Isaac Kimes received thousands of sympathetic responses after he tweeted: "The US must demand to receive the body of Grant Wall immediately and perform an autopsy herself.
This case must be investigated like a murder case."
This tune has been heard constantly since word of Wall's death became known.
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