Who was Grant Wahl, the journalist who died in the middle of the match between Argentina and the Netherlands

“An incredibly engineered set-piece goal from the Netherlands”. This was the last tweet from Grant Wahl, the American journalist who died on Friday evening during the Argentina national team match for the quarterfinals of the World Cup at Lusail Stadium. A few minutes earlier he had surrendered to Lionel Messi’s feet. Shortly thereafter he collapsed and resuscitation efforts were in vain. He failed to see the definition on penalties.

He had just turned 48 a few days ago and suffered a massive heart attack after feeling sick and very tired for the past week. The B side of these marathons.

Wahl was a journalism celebrity in his country and this Saturday many people here in Qatar are weeping among the press community. He was a very respected boy. His story, his fight against the powerful, his passion for Argentine football and his wife’s role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the United States are some of the aspects of his life, in which he has always been committed to defending and visible the problems of minorities in sport.

First you need to unravel how his sudden death was triggered. “He fell ill in the press box at Lusail stadium. There he immediately received urgent medical treatment, which continued during his transfer by ambulance to Hamad General Hospital.”a spokesman for the World Cup’s Supreme Organizing Committee said.

And I add: “We are in contact with the US embassy and the relevant local authorities to ensure that the repatriation process of the body is carried out according to the family’s wishes.”‘.

There was nothing to be done. It had been a challenging tournament for Wahl. Before the US-Wales game, played on November 21, the day after the opening game, he had been detained by security personnel at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium for wearing a rainbow jersey. This situation has aroused the suspicions of his brother, who is indeed gay.

In full pain and embarrassed by the news, Eric Wahl made a post on Instagram and denounced that, for him, Grant’s death was a homicide: “My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington. I’m Grant Wahl’s brother. My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I don’t think my brother just died, I think he was murdered. And I’m just asking for help.”

His wife, Celine Gounder, a renowned epidemiologist who has been a leading proponent of health care policies in times of the coronavirus in the United States, has been much more restrained.

“So grateful for the support of my husband Grant Wahl’s football family and so many friends who have reached out to me tonight. I am in complete shock,” Gounder tweeted.

US State Department spokesman Ned Prince tweeted shortly after: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Grant Wahl.”

What happened?

According to the American radio station NPR, Wahl collapsed in the press box near the end of the game. Medical assistants performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation before carrying him away on a stretcher. The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, warns that it would have been a heart attack.

A few days ago he informed subscribers to his newsletter, which had thousands of subscribers, that he had gone to attend a clinic in Doha because he had been feeling ill for some time.

“They said he probably had bronchitis. My body ended up leaving me. Three weeks with little sleep, a lot of stress and work can have this effect on you (…). I could feel my upper chest taking on a new level of pressure and discomfort.“predictively described. Could it have been a medical misdiagnosis?

Who was Grant Wahl

Wahl was in the running for his eighth consecutive World Cup and a few days ago he was decorated by FIFA along with other journalists. He has been the top football writer for Sports Illustrated, the best sports magazine in the United States and possibly the world, for nearly 25 years. After his departure, he opened his own outlet, but he also joined CBS Sports, the outlet he worked for in Qatar.

“For nearly 25 years at the SI, and just as critically for the past three years alone, Grant covered the sport with vigor, rigor and affection, nationally and internationally. He covered people and places, not just the carriers of the ball.” He devoted his time and attention to men’s and women’s football. Even for those who failed to fully convert, we have come to appreciate the sport more because of him. More importantly, it was hard not to be inspired by his approach to the work.”is fired this Saturday by Sports Illustrated magazine.

Fan of Argentina and Boca

Wahl got acquainted with Argentine soccer when he was studying at Princeton University where he also met who his partner would be. “Somehow I convinced my university to foot the bill for a summer trip to study football culture in a foreign country, so I asked the school’s football coach to recommend a place where I could use my Spanish.”, recounted in an article written in 2008 for Sports Illustrated. There he explained that Bob Bradley, years later coach of the United States team, told him: “Why don’t you try Boca Juniors?”. And there it was.

Thus it was that he fell madly in love with Boca. “My favorite stadium? Whenever I want to explain why La Bombonera is La Bombonera, the Buenos Aires home of Boca Juniors, I simply refer to a photograph. It was taken by Sports Illustrated star photojournalist Simon Bruty at the farewell of Diego Maradona in 2001, and it captures everything I love about Argentinian football fans, to my taste, the most passionate sports fans in the world.”. The article, in those times without many social networks, went around the world.

The Argentine journalist reinforces the idea Daniel Arcucciwho recalled Wahl with an affectionate post on his Instagram account. “In March 2019 he was at home. At that time he was working on a documentary about one of his great passions: Argentine football. In particular, he wanted to focus on the Rosario phenomenon, the birthplace of Messi and Di Maria. And to Maradona, of course”recalled the ESPN reporter.

Wahl’s Struggles

Wahl, who started his own website after his time at Sports Illustrated, was a major soccer reference in the United States when the sport began to garner interest after hosting the 1994 World Cup. He has been a leading critic of FIFA’s management and has also marked his differences when Qatar was chosen to host this World Cup.

Indeed, in 2011, Wahl has been trying to run for president of FIFA go against Sepp Blatter and Mohamed bin Hammam in 2011. He promised greater transparency in Fifa and said he had contacted 150 federations at that point without being able to receive an endorsement for the nomination.

He was also a strong promoter of women’s football. “Grant has made football his life’s work and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us.”complained the United States Soccer Federation in a statement

Doha, Qatar. Special delivery.