Football journalist Grant Wahl is believed to have died in Qatar

According to his brother Eric, America’s most prominent football journalist, Grant Wahl, died while covering the World Cup in Doha, Qatar.

Eric Wahl announced his brother’s death on Instagram on Friday evening:

Eric provided few details in his video, but said of his brother in the comments: “He collapsed at the stadium, was doing CPR, was taken by Uber to the hospital and died according to Celine. We just spoke to the State Department and Celine spoke with Ron Klain and the White House.

Grant Wahl’s wife, Celine Gounderis a well-known physician and medical journalist who served on the Biden-Harris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Council. She posted on Twitter on Friday evening:

Late last month, Wahl was briefly detained by Qatari officials while covering the World Cup because he wore a shirt supporting gay relationships:

Qatar’s reaction to Wahl’s progressive views has prompted some to call for an immediate investigation into his death. However, there is no information on Wahl’s cause of death beyond what has been shared by his family.

Wahl’s latest tweet came during the Argentina v Netherlands game on Friday afternoon:

Grant Wahl was 48 years old.

[Update]: Just this week Wahl wrote: in his newsletter that he was not feeling well and had checked into a hospital while in Qatar:

“My body finally crumbled on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and a lot of work can do this to you,” Wahl wrote. turned into something more serious on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest taking on a new level of pressure and discomfort. I didn’t have Covid (I test regularly here), but I went to the main media center medical clinic today, and they said I probably had bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and cough syrup, and I already feel a little better a few hours later. But still: No bueno.

This is a developing story. We will update with more information as it becomes available.