Grant Wahl, an American journalist covering the FIFA World Cup 2022, died Friday in Qatar. He was 48.
The former Sports Illustrated senior writer collapsed while covering the quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands at the Lusail Stadium.
Also read: 5 interesting facts about Argentina’s FIFA World Cup history
Wahl’s brother, Eric, alleged that the Qatari government may have been involved in the death of the sports writer.
“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington. I am Grant Wahl’s brother. I’m gay,” he said in a video posted on Instagram.
“I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed. And I just beg for any help.”
The video has been taken down.
In a joint statement, SI’s co-editors in chief Ryan Hunt and Stephen Cannella said, “We’re shocked and devastated at the news of Grant’s passing. We were proud to call him a colleague and friend for two decades—no writer in the history of SI has been more passionate about the sport he loved and the stories he wanted to tell. Our hearts go out to Celine and his family, as well as everyone who loved his work. He will always be part of the SI family.”
Grant Wahl is survived by his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, and two dogs, Zizou and Coco.
Celina Gounder is an American infectious diseases specialist, filmmaker, medical journalist, epidemiologist, and internal medicine physician. She is 43 years old in 2020.
Grounder was born to a French mother from Normandy and her father hailed from Tamil Nadu, India. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and later completed her master of science from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2000.
Grounder and Wahl have two dogs. Zizou is named after French football legend Zinedine Zidane. The couple posts a lot of pictures with the dogs on social media.
