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Grant Wahl’s widow is speaking out for the second time since the noted soccer writer died while covering the World Cup in Qatar.
“Missing you @GrantWahl,” tweeted Céline Gounder, a physician who previously served on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board.
Attached to Gounder’s tweet is a photo of the couple laughing in a vineyard as he holds a glass of red wine. Wahl and Gounder attended Princeton University together before marrying in 2001.
Wahl’s body and possessions were repatriated to the United States on Monday after he collapsed while covering a quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Argentina on Friday.
Grant Wahl’s widow is speaking out for the second time since the noted soccer writer died while covering the World Cup in Qatar. “Missing you @GrantWahl,” tweeted Céline Gounder, a physician who previously served on President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board.
The 49-year-old man was rushed to hospital in Doha on Friday but was soon pronounced dead. His remains have been in US custody since shortly after his death, according to the State Department.
The respected Sports Illustrated alumnus and leading soccer journalist in the US had been covering the tournament on Substack and for CBS Sports until Friday, when he collapsed at Lusail Iconic Stadium. He was given CPR and rushed to a nearby hospital in an Uber, but he has since been pronounced dead at age 48.
He had previously complained of bronchitis during a recent podcast and admitted he was ill at the start of the tournament but was “healthy” while reporting on Friday’s Argentina-Netherlands game, according to a social media post by his brother Eric.
“My body finally collapsed on me,” Wahl wrote recently, while covering her eighth World Cup. ‘Three weeks of little sleep, a lot of stress and a lot of work can do that. What had been a cold for the past 10 days turned into something more severe the night of the USA vs. Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest taking on a new level of pressure and discomfort.’
Grant Wahl and his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, in some of their Instagram photos. Here they are with the dogs Zizou (brown) and Coco (black). The photo posted on December 21, 2020 is captioned: “So this will be the first time we haven’t traveled for Christmas since 2011. The reason in 2011 was this: our dog Zizou (the brown one) stopped breathing one morning, we think because chewed on a poinsettia leaf. Doc @celinegounder being amazing literally gave him mouth to mouth while we were taking him to the dog hospital and he did it. We ended up not traveling out of an abundance of caution. Glad to say Zizou hasn’t had any problems! like that ever since!
Wahl is pictured with his wife, former Biden Administration official Dr. Céline Gounder
Grant Wahl and his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, in some of their Instagram photos. This one is subtitled: ‘#TBT Buenos Aires, 2014’
Grant Wahl and his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, in some of their Instagram photos. This December 24, 2020 photo is captioned: ‘#TBT Christmas 2008 in Stellenbosch, South Africa in unbelievably hot weather with @celinegounder. Some South African wines could have been consumed’
Much of the world learned of Wahl’s passing from his brother Eric, who claimed that Grant was killed for wearing a rainbow “pride” jersey at the start of the tournament: “I don’t think my brother died, I think they killed him”. ‘
Wahl had recently upset the host country by wearing a rainbow ‘pride’ shirt before a match on November 21 in violation of Qatar’s anti-gay laws. He later said that he was detained for about 20 minutes while officials demanded that he change his shirt.
In the end, he was allowed in and tweeted: “I’m fine, but it was an unnecessary test.” I’m in the media center, still in my T-shirt. He was detained for almost half an hour. Go homosexuals.
Following her death on Friday, Eric Wahl, who is gay, said on Instagram that Grant wore the shirt to support his brother.
I’m the reason he wore the rainbow jersey at the world cup. I don’t think my brother died, I think he was killed.
However, Eric Wahl is now retracting his accusation.
“The family will release a statement on the cause of death soon,” Eric Wahl wrote on Twitter. I no longer suspect foul play. It wasn’t a (pulmonary embolism)’.
The brother of Grant Wahl, the American soccer journalist who was killed while covering the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, no longer believes his brother died of foul play.
The brother of Grant Wahl (pictured), the American soccer journalist who was killed while covering the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, no longer believes his brother died of foul play.
Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, has insisted there is no reason to believe Wahl’s death was the result of foul play and has even praised Qatari officials for cooperating with the United States to arrange the repatriation.
“We haven’t seen any indication of foul play or anything nefarious at this point,” Price told reporters gathered in Washington on Monday.
Reports have claimed that defibrillators were not available at the stadium, suggesting negligence on the part of the tournament host, but FIFA rejected that claim in a statement on Tuesday.
“In light of the inaccurate reports following the tragic events at Lusail Stadium during the match between the Netherlands and Argentina, FIFA would like to confirm that, in accordance with medical protocols and as reported by the Hamad Medial Corporation Ambulance Service in Qatar , a defibrillator was available with the first responding paramedic team and was applied to the patient as part of their response,” the FIFA statement read.
‘Furthermore, it was confirmed that the patient was taken to the hospital by an emergency ambulance. The medical personnel present did everything possible to save his life. Our thoughts remain with the Grant Wahl family.’