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Grant Wahl's brother Eric turns Instagram private after SHOCKING remarks about soccer writer's death

'I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. He told me he received death threats,' said Eric before making his account private

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: After making chilling remarks that journalist Grant Wahl received death threats and was most likely 'killed' for wearing an LGBTQ+ t-shirt, his brother, Eric Wahl has reportedly made his Instagram account private, which means his posts are now available to his followers only. Grant, 48, who had complained about 'death rattle cough' from his bronchitis collapsed while covering Argentina's quarterfinal against the Netherlands which they won on Friday.

What may have prompted him to jump to the speculation is that Wahl was detained by Qatar authorities at the start of the World Cup for wearing the rainbow t-shirt that he wore for Eric and was outspoken against the Middle Eastern country's practices toward LGBTQ+ inhabitants and migrant workers, leading some to question how he died. Eric, according to his now-private video message, made statements implicating the Qatar government of his untimely death.

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“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 to his Instagram account before he restricted it to his followers. “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.”

Grant during Thursday's episode of his podcast Futbol with Grant Wahl said that his body "finally broke down on me" before he collapsed. He said he felt as though he was suffering from bronchitis and that he had been to a medical clinic twice. Wahl, as per a report in Daily Mail, also wrote that he tested negative for Covid-19 and sought treatment for his symptoms. ''I went into the medical clinic at the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis. They gave me a course of antibiotics and some heavy-duty cough syrup, and I'm already feeling a bit better just a few hours later. But still: No bueno.''

Wahl's wife, former Biden White House Covid advisor Dr Celine Gounder, tweeted Friday night, "I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl's soccer family & of so many friends who've reached out tonight. I'm in complete shock."

"I’m in shock. I was sitting next to him tonight. He was working on his story on his laptop, it was about 4 minutes before the end of the extra time. He was laughing at a joke we saw on Twitter only minutes earlier. I can’t believe it. My deepest condolences to @GrantWahl’s family," Rafael Cores, a journalist for Univision who was sitting next to Wahl at the match, wrote.