Grant Wahl, an American, has become the latest journalist to encounter an unfortunate incident during the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.
Like Ethan Sears Mentioned to the New York Post, Wahl took to Twitter on Monday to explain that he was temporarily banned from the stadium ahead of the US vs Wales World Cup match because he was wearing a supportive T-shirt. LGBTQ has a soccer ball surrounded by the colors of the rainbow:
Wahl, who previously covered the stunning game for Sports Illustrated, gave an update on the situation via his Substack and said that a security guard “ribbed my phone from my hands”. ” after his first tweet. After about 30 minutes, Wahl was informed that the shirt was of a “political” nature and was not allowed inside the venue.
Wahl refused to take off his shirt and told New York Times reporter Andrew Das what was going on. Das was also briefly detained before both men were eventually released without further incident, and a security commander apologized to Wahl. Wahl also notes that one security guard “told me they were just trying to protect me from the fans inside who might harm me for wearing that shirt.”
It’s a have learned earlier on Monday, captains from at least six countries abandoned their plans to wear the “OneLove” anti-discrimination armband during World Cup matches after FIFA threatened a yellow card to any player who openly wears the captain’s armband. Meanwhile, an Argentine TV reporter speak She had her wallet stolen while filming a segment in Qatar. Media personalities from Denmark and Ireland have also comment clash with Qatari security personnel and/or police.
While talking to NBC Sports’ Peter King for Monday’s “Football Morning in America” column, Wahl admitted to feeling “very conflicted” about the coverage of this World Cup due to Qatar’s highly questionable human rights record.
“The World Cup is my favorite sporting event in the world,” Wahl told King. “I see my life in the four years of increased growth surrounding the World Cup. On the other hand, the World Cup is taking place in a country with a long history of human rights abuses, and treatment of migrant workers here has been called modern slavery by human rights groups. Qatar has made progress when it comes to introducing new worker protection laws in 2019, but enforcement of those laws needs to be much better in practice, as I’ve seen talking to workers here. at the beginning of this year. So I love the fact, but it’s true – I’m conflicted.”
