Gustavo Dulanto said goodbye to Grant Wahl, a journalist who died at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

The Peruvian defender lamented the sudden death of the American communicator in one of the World Cup press rooms

The American journalist Grant Wahl died last Friday, December 9, while covering the match between the teams of Argentina and the Netherlands for the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar 2022. The 48-year-old communicator vanished in the press area at the beginning of the second overtime of the match. The Peruvian defender Gustavo Dulanto lamented the loss with a heartfelt message.

The Latvian Riga FC defender reported how close he was to the reporter. Along with his publication, he attached a photograph with Wahl on the occasion of an interview with the journalist with a renowned career in the United States.

According to the first reports, the renowned communicator would have suffered a heart attack. However, this has not been officially confirmed so far. Weeks ago, Grant Wahl revealed that security personnel at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium detained him briefly when he tried to enter the facility wearing an LGBT-referenced T-shirt.

In Qatar, relationships between two people of the same gender are not allowed, which is why wearing clothing supporting this is considered a crime. After the incident, Wahl decided to share the fact on his personal Twitter account, in which he assured that a guard suddenly took his cell phone when he was going to publish what was happening.

“A security guard told me that my T-shirt was ‘political’ and that it was not allowed. Another repeatedly refused to return my phone. Another guard yelled at me while he was on top of me, ”wrote the journalist.

After making the complaint about the security agents public, FIFA’s apologies were immediate and even authorities in charge of the event assured him that he could wear the shirt for the rest of the competition.

When asked about representing the LGBTQ community, Grant had this to say: “I have family members who are gay. I have friends who are gay. I have journalist friends who are gay here in Qatar. But that is not necessary to be supportive, to be an ally”.

Wahl’s ailment

Grant Wahl would have complained of “chest tightness” and would have even gone for help at the World Cup medical clinic, this fact would have taken place just four days before his death.

“Like it’s gotten a lot worse in terms of the tightness in my chest, tightness, pressure. It felt like something very scary, bad,” Wahl confessed to Chris Wittyngham, co-host of the event.

The communicator thought that what he had was bronchitis, so what he requested was cough syrup and ibuprofen, and from then on, the symptoms began to disappear. Grant later noted that he experienced an “involuntary surrender of his body and mind” after the match between the United States and the Netherlands on December 3.

However, he maintained that in previous World Cups he had also been ill and was able to improve as the days went by. “This is not my first World Cup. I have been to eight of these previously. And so, I’ve gotten sick to some degree every tournament, and it’s just about finding a way that allows you to do your job.”

So far, no one has come out to confirm the reason for his death. However, the world of football is in mourning after the irreparable loss of one of the people who dedicated his life to this passion.

“Grant made soccer his life’s work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us,” the United States Soccer Federation said in an official statement.