Grant Wahl’s body returned to US for autopsy after soccer journalist’s sudden death at Qatar World Cup

The journalist had covered 11 World Cups between men and women’s events

Soccer Obit Wahl (FIFA)

The body of US journalist Grant Wahl has returned to the US for examination after the reporter died while covering the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, his manager said.

The 49-year-old journalist died on Friday after collapsing during the Argentina and Netherlands match, CNN reports.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, said Wahl’s remains were sent from Qatar back to the US. An autopsy is scheduled in New York City.

Wahl was a prolific soccer reporter. He covered 11 World Cups — six men’s and five women’s — and wrote several books on the subject.

According to Qatar’s World Cup organisers, Wahl "fell ill" while in the press area. He received "immediate medical treatment on site" before being transferred for a local hospital.

"We did receive excellent cooperation from our Qatari partners as soon as we learned of Grant Wahl’s passing," Mr Price said. "Our ambassador … was in regular contact with senior officials in the Qatar government in an effort to see to it that we were in a position to fulfill the wishes of the family as expeditiously as possible."

Mr Price also confirmed that there was "no indication of foul play or anything nefarious at this point."

Wahl hosted a podcast called "Futbol with Grant Wahl," and commented just says before his death that he had been feeling ill.

"It had gotten pretty bad in terms of like the tightness in my chest, tightness, pressure. Feelings pretty hair, bad," he told his co-host, Chris Wittyngham.

Wahl said he sought guidance from the World Cup’s media center medical staff, who apparently thought he was showing signs of bronchitis. They gave him cough syrup and ibuprofen, which granted him some temporary relief.

In a newsletter he produced, Wahl writes that his body "broke down" due to a mixture of work-related stress and poor sleep.

Grant Wahl’s brother, Eric Wahl, tweeted that "the family will release a statement as to cause of death soon."

Mr Wahl previously believed his brother was killed for wearing a rainbow shirt to support the LGBTQ community while working in Qatar. The reporter made headlines after he was detained and denied entry to a World Cup match for wearing the shirt, but he was later released without further incident.

Eric Wahl initially suggested that incident may have led to his brother’s death.

"My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington, I am Grant Wahl’s brother," he said in a video he tweeted on Friday. "I am gay, I am 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."

Since then, Eric Wahl has spoken with US officials about his brother’s condition and has changed his mind.

"I no longer suspect foul play. It was not pulmonary embolism," Eric Wahl wrote, noting that more information would be available sometime Tuesday.