Tragedy at the World Championships in Katat!
Sports journalist Grant Wahl died during the quarterfinals between Argentina and the Netherlands at the World Cup in Qatar. He was only 48 years old.
Wahl had tweeted on Friday evening about the 2-2 equalizer of the Dutch: “An unbelievable goal after a standard situation.”
A short time later – during extra time – the 48-year-old collapsed in the media stand at Lusail Stadium. The journalists sitting next to him immediately called the helpers. Paramedics were quickly on site.
Chairs were handed out to place Wahl on the floor. There was an attempt to revive him for minutes. The bad news later: the efforts were in vain.
His wife Celine Gounder wrote on Twitter that she was in complete shock. The US Football Association released a statement on its Twitter account, which read: “The entire US football family is heartbroken to learn of the loss of Grant Wahl.”
Wahl had worked for “Sports Illustrated” and the broadcaster CBS, among others. He was for the eighth time as a reporter at a soccer World Cup. According to the AP news agency, Wahl wrote on Monday that he had been in a hospital because of health problems.
“Three weeks of little sleep, a lot of stress and a lot of work can do that to you,” Wahl wrote. He didn’t have Covid. In the hospital he was told that he probably had bronchitis. “They gave me an antibiotic and a strong cough syrup and a few hours later I’m feeling a little better. But still: not good.”
Grant Wahl with US soccer player Jozy Altidore (2017)
Wahl was detained by security forces for 25 minutes ahead of the USA-Wales preliminary round match on November 21 for wearing a rainbow-colored T-shirt to show his support for the LGBTQI* community. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by up to seven years in prison.