Grant Wahl’s brother no longer suspects foul play in soccer journalist’s death
The brother of leading American soccer journalist Grant Wahl no longer suspects foul play in his sibling’s sudden death, he tweeted Tuesday.
Eric Wahl said the family soon plans to release a cause of death for Grant Wahl, who collapsed during a World Cup match in Qatar last Friday.
The journalist didn’t suffer a pulmonary embolism, which Eric Wahl previously suggested was a possibility, according to the tweet.
Last week, Eric Wahl said in a since-deleted video he believed his brother was killed, according to People.
Grant Wahl’s body and possessions were returned Monday to the U.S., with the State Department saying there’s no evidence his death was suspicious.
“We have seen no indication of foul play or anything nefarious at this point,” a department spokesman said.
Grant Wahl, whose coverage included a 20-year stint as the lead Sports Illustrated soccer writer, said last month that World Cup staffers stopped him for 25 minutes after he wore a rainbow shirt to a match. Qatar outlaws same-sex relations.
In his video last week, Eric Wahl, who is openly gay, called himself “the reason” his brother wore the rainbow shirt.
Days before his death, Grant Wahl visited a clinic with an undisclosed illness, he wrote on Substack.
“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,” he wrote at the time.
“I didn’t have Covid (I test regularly here), but I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis.”
Another person covering the World Cup, identified as photojournalist Khalid al-Misslam, has also died, according to a tweet Saturday by Qatar’s Gulf Times newspaper.
With News Wire Services
