A famous American sports journalist died suddenly during the quarter finals in Qatar

It’s unclear exactly what happened Friday that led to Wall’s death. According to colleagues, he was joking in the press gallery moments before his death. Suddenly the journalist fell back in his seat and medical help was immediately called. “He was working on his essay on his laptop,” said Univision colleague Rafael Corse. “It happened four minutes before the end of extra time. He was jokingly laughing on Twitter that we saw him a few minutes ago. I can’t believe it.’

On Thursday, Wall said in a podcast that Qatar was physically tough. ‘My body is failing. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and a lot of work can do that to you. I had a slight cold for ten days. I had severe chest pains during the match between USA and Netherlands.’ The man says he tested negative for Covid-19 and was examined at the hospital. Bronchitis was diagnosed there, and Wahl was put on a course of antibiotics.

Wall’s manager Tim Scanlan confirmed to the news outlet Reuters The journalist was “in severe distress as overtime began” during the match. Scanlon said several attempts were made to revive Val in the press room before he was taken to the hospital.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino offered his condolences in a statement, saying Wallin’s “love of football was immense and his coverage will be missed by all who followed him”.

In collaboration with the US Embassy, ​​arrangements are currently being made to transport his body to the US.

Rainbow t-shirt

In November, Wall was briefly detained by Qatari authorities for wearing a rainbow t-shirt in support of the LGBT community. Homosexuality is a criminal offense in Qatar. That is why it is suspected by his brother that the journalist was killed because of his support for the LGBT community.

In an emotional video message on Instagram, Eric Wall says he suspects foul play in his brother’s death. ‘He was perfectly healthy. He couldn’t have died alone.’ He also said Grant received death threats after the rainbow t-shirt incident.

Grant Wall had a long career as a football journalist in the popular magazine Game chart and was considered one of America’s best soccer journalists. He left the magazine two years ago but continues to cover soccer worldwide through the paid news platform. One of his last pieces Game chart About the death of a migrant worker in Qatar during the World Cup and the indifferent response of the Qatari authorities.