Soccer sportswriter and Qatar critic Grant Wahl has died covering the World Cup
Phineas Gage
“As NPR reported earlier, Wahl was prevented from entering one World Cup stadium in Qatar in November because he was wearing a rainbow t-shirt.
Wahl said a stadium security guard turned him away, "You have to change your shirt. It's not allowed." Wahl said he'd been briefly detained. Qatar has been a controversial host since it was awarded the tournament in 2010.
Wahl had been critical of FIFA and Qatar during the tournament. In an interview with NPR, Eric Wahl said his brother didn't shy away from highlighting the controversy at the World Cup "He was very critical of FIFA - which is not new for him and very critical how the Qataris were running the games."
Eric Wahl said his brother had received death threats while in Qatar because of the rainbow shirt and his continued reporting on FIFA and the Qatari government. (Snip).
Wahl had gotten sick while on assignment in Qatar. On Monday he had written he'd visited a medical clinic and the staff believed he had bronchitis.
"My body finally broke down on me," Wahl 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."
https://www.npr.org/2022/12/09/1142054844/grant-wahl-soccer-writer-dies-qatar-world-cup?sc=ipad&f=1001