A 48-year-old American journalist, Grant Wahl, died while covering the quarter-final of the World Cup between the Netherlands and Argentina played yesterday . Apparently it was a cardiac arrest .
As told by his colleagues, Wahl felt ill during the match and collapsed on the ground . Immediately rescued and then transported to hospital, he didn't make it.
However, the family launches very heavy accusations: "I don't think my brother is dead, I think he was killed," says Eric Wahl in tears in a video on Instagram.
During his work as a World Cup correspondent for CBS Sport, Wahl had been stopped by the Qatar police because, during the United States-Wales, he wore a rainbow shirt : «My name is Eric Wahl, I am Grant's brother and I am gay - says his brother today -. They're the reason he wore the rainbow colored jersey to the World Cup. My brother was healthy and he told me he received death threats, I don't think he's dead, I think they killed him».
Meanwhile messages of condolence arrive from the US Football Federation but also from athletes of other sports such as the NBA star, LeBron James, and from the number 1 of Fifa, Gianni Infantino: « His love for football was immense and his gaze will be missed by all those who love this sport . On behalf of FIFA and the entire football community, I extend my sincere condolences to his wife Celine, his family and friends at this difficult time."
The US authorities, through the embassy in Qatar, are dealing with the procedures for the repatriation of the body and are also working to clarify the causes of death . In recent days, Wahl himself had informed of some health problems, of a bronchitis he was treating.
(Unioneonline/D)
