US journalist Grant Wahl, who made headlines after being denied entry to a stadium for wearing a rainbow jersey at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, reportedly died suddenly on Friday.
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This was announced by his brother Eric Wahl in a message shared Friday evening on Instagram.
“I’m gay and the reason he wore the rainbow jersey to the World Cup. My brother was healthy, he told me he had received death threats. I don’t think my brother just died, I think he was killed,” he said in a video.
The news was also quickly confirmed by the USA soccer team on their Twitter account.
“The entire American soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl,” it read. “Fans of soccer and high-quality journalism knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our sport and its key players.”
“Equally important, Grant’s belief in the power of play to advance human rights was, and will remain, an inspiration to all. Grant has made football his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writings will no longer be with us.
Also according to his brother, the journalist collapsed at the stadium and received first aid maneuvers before being transferred by Uber to a hospital, where he died.
Grant Wahl was present at the match between Argentina and the Netherlands on Friday afternoon for a place in the semi-finals, according to the latest tweets published on his account.
Recall that the 48-year-old journalist was not allowed to enter the Ahmad bin Ali stadium during the match between the United States and Wales on November 21 and was detained for wearing a rainbow jersey -ciel in support of the LGBTQ+ community. He had finally been allowed to enter the stadium.
Wahl was a sports journalist specializing in soccer for the American channel CBS Sports, but had previously acted as a journalist for “Sports Illustrated” and for Fox Sports.