After experiencing “acute distress” while covering the World Cup, American reporter Grant Wahl passed away

Grant Wahl, a well-known soccer writer from the United States, passed away on Friday after experiencing “acute distress” while covering a World Cup game in Qatar, according to his agent.

U.S. Soccer expressed their “heartbreak” at hearing of Wahl’s passing. In response to the US, his wife said. Tweet on soccer in which she expressed her shock.

Earlier on Friday, Wahl, a former reporter for Sports Illustrated who now works for the internet publishing platform Substack, had been tweeting about the Netherlands-Argentina match.

In the beginning of extra time during the quarterfinal game, Wahl “looked to suffer some form of extreme anxiety,” according to his agent Tim Scanlan, who spoke to Reuters.

Scanlan claimed that efforts were attempted to revive Wahl in the press box before he was carried off on a stretcher and declared dead at the nearby hospital.

FIFA, the organization that oversees soccer worldwide, did not respond to a request for comment right away.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the organization in charge of organizing the World Cup in Qatar, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

“He was a true advocate for both the men’s and women’s games and really just cared deeply about the sport,” Scanlan said. “Everyone’s emotional and it’s really traumatic. He was a very talented writer who had empathy.

Wahl claimed that in late November, while attempting to enter a World Cup stadium in Qatar while donning a rainbow shirt in solidarity of the LGBTQ population in a nation where same-sex relationships are prohibited, he was momentarily held.

He claimed that World Cup security requested him to remove his shirt and refused him access to the United States’ opening match against Wales at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan.

Wahl mentioned visiting a hospital while in Qatar in a letter he sent on Monday.

He said on Substack, “I went into the medical clinic at the major media center today, and they stated I probably had bronchitis. I didn’t have Covid (I test here frequently), but.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, claimed on Twitter that the department had been in constant contact with Wahl’s family.

He was a kind and caring person whose passion for soccer and dedication to journalism were immeasurable, “Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer, reacted to the news of Wahl’s passing.

Megan Rapinoe, a two-time World Cup champion, wrote on Twitter, “This is so devastating.” “Love to his family and other people close to him.