Qatar The night the world discovered Mateu Lahoz in the face of Messi's fury
Grant Wahl
, a renowned
American sports journalist, has died this Friday after collapsing in the press box while covering the
Argentina-Netherlands
quarterfinals
of the
2022 World Cup in Qatar
, reported his wife and the United States Soccer Federation.
Wahl, 48, made news when
he was arrested
at the
Qatar World Cup
for wearing a
rainbow shirt in support of the LGTBI community
, persecuted in this Arab country.
The reporter helped boost soccer's popularity in the United States through decades of vivid reporting in
Sports Illustrated
, and later on
CBS Sports
, for which
he covered Friday's Argentina-Netherlands game
at Lusail Stadium.
According to NPR,
Wahl collapsed in the media box as the game neared its end
.
Paramedics performed CPR on him before taking him away on a stretcher.
According to the
Wall Street Journal
, Wahl would have suffered a heart attack.
"Grant made soccer his life's work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us," the US Soccer Federation said in a statement.
"I am in complete shock," tweeted his wife Celine Gounder, a renowned epidemiologist.
Wahl was
detained in Qatar on November 21
by security personnel after he wore a
rainbow jersey
in the opening match between the United States and Wales.
In 1996, Wahl joined Sports Illustrated, at the time the leading American sports publication, to report on soccer.
He stayed with the magazine until 2020, and a year later he joined CBS Sports.
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