Grant Wahl smiled with the trophy he received in Doha on November 29, for his career as a sports journalist.Brendan Moran (AP)
American journalist Grant Wahl, 48, died on Friday while working on the World Cup in Qatar.
Wahl, one of the most famous sports reporters in the US, collapsed in the press area while covering the Argentina-Netherlands quarterfinals for CBS.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, but could not be revived.
Spanish journalist Rafael Cores, who lives in the United States, was next to him during the match.
“I am in
shock
.
Just a few minutes before, he was laughing at a joke that we saw on Twitter ”, he expressed on social networks.
In fact, Wahl wrote several tweets during the meeting.
I'm shocked.
I was sitting next to him tonight.
He was working on his story from him on his laptop from him, 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 @GrantWahl's family https://t.co/wnWlxY9L3l
– Rafael Cores (@rafacores) December 10, 2022
A few days ago, Wahl had reported that he had approached the clinic that cares for journalists displaced to Qatar because he was not feeling well.
They told him that he probably had bronchitis.
“Three weeks with little sleep, a lot of stress and work can have this effect on us,” he commented with his followers.
The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has sent a message of condolences to his wife, Céline, a renowned epidemiologist, his family and friends "on behalf of the entire football community".
A few days ago, FIFA recognized her work by covering eight consecutive World Cups since 1994 and the former Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo gave her an award.
"His love for football was immense," added Infantino.
The US soccer federation has also sent a statement expressing her condolences and praising her defense of human rights: "We are broken."
On November 21, Wahl explained that members of the World Cup security team had held him for 25 minutes before entering the stadium to watch the United States game against Wales for wearing a rainbow jersey in support of LGTBI rights.
Homosexuality is considered a crime in Qatar, where
Sharia
(Islamic law) governs and is punishable by jail.
“They told me that I had to change my shirt because it was not allowed and it was 'political'.
I tweeted it and they took my cell phone.”
Later, they let him in and another security member apologized to him.
"He told me that they were just trying to protect me from fans who could hurt me for wearing that shirt."
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
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