Grant Wahl and Laura McAllister at the FIFA World Cup

Sports journalist Grant Wahl and former Wales captain Laura McAllister were seen here wearing rainbow-coloured clothing at the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Photo: Twitter @wc22updates/@GrantWahl / Canva

RIP: US journalist dies ‘suspiciously’ at World Cup

American journalist Grant Wahl has died under allegedly suspicious circumstances while covering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Grant Wahl and Laura McAllister at the FIFA World Cup

Sports journalist Grant Wahl and former Wales captain Laura McAllister were seen here wearing rainbow-coloured clothing at the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Photo: Twitter @wc22updates/@GrantWahl / Canva

Grant Wahl made headlines at the start of the FIFA World Cup when he had been detained before the United States’ tournament opener against Wales for wearing a rainbow flag shirt.

The shirt was seen to be in support of the LGBTQ+ community. However, the nation of Qatar forbids same-sex relations under Islamic Sharia law.

Wahl, 48, who was a highly-respected US sports journalist, was said to have been ‘healthy’ before he collapsed during the Netherlands-Argentina quarterfinal match in Doha on Friday.

His agent, Tim Scanlan, told the New York Times that Wahl had gone into acute distress in the final minutes of the quarter-final match, while there were reports of him falling back in his seat before medical attention was called upon.

In an emotional video posted by Grant’s sibling Eric – who is gay – he said he believes his brother may have been killed.

“I am the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. My brother was healthy, he told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died, I believe he was killed.”

You can watch the video below:

U.S. Soccer said in a statement that the team was “heartbroken” over Wahl’s death.

“Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game,” the organisation said.

The journalist had recently spoken of feeling unwell at the World Cup

In a recent post on his personal website, Wahl said he felt sick and that medical personnel on-site at the World Cup told him he probably had bronchitis.

“My body finally broke down on me,” he wrote. “Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you. What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.”

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