According to his wife and the US Soccer Federation, one of America’s top soccer reporters, who made news when he was arrested at the Qatar World Cup for donning a rainbow shirt, passed away on Friday while reporting the quarterfinals in Doha.

Grant Wahl, 48, contributed to the growth of soccer’s popularity in the United States by providing Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports with years of vivid reportage.

NPR claims that as the Argentina-Netherlands game on Friday came to a close, Wahl passed out in the press section.

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Before removing him from the scene on a stretcher, paramedics performed CPR on him. And according to the Wall Street Journal, Wahl reportedly suffered from a heart attack.

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To that effect, US Soccer iterated in a statement that:

“Grant made soccer his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us.”

Moreover, according to reports, the “entire US Soccer family is heartbroken.” Meanwhile, Wahl’s wife, Celine Gounder, who happens to be a noted epidemiologist, and authority on infectious diseases, tweeted: “I’m in complete shock.”

Background

Security personnel detained Wahl in Qatar on November 21 after he showed support for LGBTQ rights by wearing a rainbow shirt to the opening match between the US and Wales teams in a nation where same-sex relationships are forbidden.

This week, Wahl mentioned visiting a clinic at the media center in Qatar in his subscription newsletter. “They told me I probably have bronchitis,” he wrote.

“My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress, and lots of work can do that to you… I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort,” he added.

Wahl claimed that he was “feeling a bit better just a few hours later” after taking some antibiotics and “some heavy-duty cough syrup.”

In 1996, Wahl began covering soccer for Sports Illustrated, the top US sports magazine at the time. He worked with the magazine until 2020 before switching to CBS Sports the following year.

Additionally, he had started an email subscription newsletter platform and was contributing to it while the World Cup was going on.

Ned Price, the spokesman for the State Department, tweeted

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Grant Wahl in close communication” with his family.

“We are engaged with senior Qatari officials to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible,” he added.

A sign of Wahl’s significance in promoting soccer in the United States, both amateur and professional, was the outpouring of grief that followed the news of his passing.

Soccer fans and readers of the best journalism knew they could rely on Grant to produce enlightening and interesting pieces about our game and its main characters, including the teams, players, coaches, and myriad other characters that set soccer apart from other sports.