Al-Saqr posted:

why would they assasinate the guy?

quote:

U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl dies after collapsing at World Cup match

Ben Strauss

Prominent American soccer writer Grant Wahl died Friday while covering the World Cup in Qatar, U.S. Soccer confirmed. Wahl chronicled the rise of the game for Sports Illustrated for years before moving to Substack.

Wahl attended the quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Lusail on Friday. He collapsed in his seat at the start of extra time. A number of reporters called for help, and paramedics arrived immediately, treating Wahl for several minutes on-site, said Washington Post reporter Steven Goff, who also was covering the match.

“The entire U.S. Soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl,” U.S. Soccer wrote in a statement. “Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists: teams, players, coaches and the many personalities that make soccer unlike any sport.”

Wahl, 48, had written about some of his health issues in Qatar in the days leading up to his passing. Earlier this week, he wrote: “My body finally broke down on me. Three weeks of little sleep, high stress and lots of work can do that to you.”

He said he had a cold turn into something more serious on the night the United States played the Netherlands. “I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort,” he wrote.

In a well-covered incident at the tournament, Wahl was detained by Qatari security guards at a stadium when he arrived to a game wearing a rainbow soccer ball T-shirt. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Wahl, on his Substack, wrote that security guards refused to let him in, held him for 25 minutes and demanded he remove his shirt.

In its statement, U.S. Soccer added: “Grant’s passion for soccer and commitment to elevating its profile across our sporting landscape played a major role in helping to drive interest in and respect for our beautiful game. As important, Grant’s belief in the power of the game to advance human rights was, and will remain, an inspiration to all.”

A U.S. State Department spokesman said the agency was in close communication with Wahl’s family and the officials were “engaged with senior Qatari officials to see to it that his family’s wishes are fulfilled as expeditiously as possible.”

…

Wahl tweeted commentary throughout Argentina’s victory Friday. His final tweet came at the end of the second half after the Netherlands tied the game. “Just an incredible designed set-piece goal by the Netherlands,” Wahl wrote.

Woodchip posted:

Wahlnothingburger

Woodchip posted:

Wahlnothingburger

FullLeatherJacket posted:

Also, I suspect death threats are less phone calls in the middle of the night or Neil Lennon getting bullets posted to his house, and more random Nigerian twitter accounts posting "I keel all u bumboys, long live our lord and saviour mason greenwood" at you, and those dudes probably aren't putting out hits on people.

Backdoor Delivery posted:

when did Pepe become just Pep

Malloc Voidstar posted:

Dell_Zincht posted:

He probably wasn't murdered, but they also didn't really try very hard to keep him alive either, so... *shrugs*

FullLeatherJacket posted:

Also, I suspect death threats are less phone calls in the middle of the night or Neil Lennon getting bullets posted to his house, and more random Nigerian twitter accounts posting "I keel all u bumboys, long live our lord and saviour mason greenwood" at you, and those dudes probably aren't putting out hits on people.

FullLeatherJacket posted:

Also, I suspect death threats are less phone calls in the middle of the night or Neil Lennon getting bullets posted to his house, and more random Nigerian twitter accounts posting "I keel all u bumboys, long live our lord and saviour mason greenwood" at you, and those dudes probably aren't putting out hits on people.

i say swears online posted:

Nigerians don't talk like this hth

FullLeatherJacket posted:

my apologies if I've conflated multiple national stereotypes of the insane people who get angry at any pro-LGBTQ or anti-wifebeating post from united twitter

I'm committed to coming up with better and harder dogwhistles ityool 2023

quote:

Four people charged over Qatar’s alleged bribing of EU officials
Charges come after Belgian police made six arrests and seized phones, computers and €600,000 in cash

Belgian prosecutors investigating allegations that Qatar has sought to influence EU policy by bribing European parliament officials have charged four people with money laundering, corruption and participating in a criminal organisation.

The charges, which were announced on Sunday, came two days after police arrested four people and seized computers, mobile phones and €600,000 (£515,000) in cash during searches at 16 properties across Brussels.

According to Belgium’s federal prosecutor, officers examining one of the biggest alleged corruption cases in the parliament’s recent history believe a Gulf country – identified by Belgian media as Qatar – has used bribes and gifts to try to influence decisions at the legislature.

Although the prosecutor’s office did not identify the four by name, a judicial source told Agence France-Presse that they include Eva Kaili, an MEP for the social democratic Greek Pasok party who serves as one of the parliament’s 14 vice-presidents.

The home of a second MEP was searched on Saturday evening, the prosecutor’s office said.

“It is suspected that third parties in political and/or strategic positions within the European parliament were paid large sums of money or offered substantial gifts to influence parliament’s decisions,” the office said in a statement.

“Four individuals have been arrested by the Brussels investigating judge who’s leading the investigation. They are charged with participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption. Two persons have been released by the investigating judge.”

A Qatari official denied accusations of possible misconduct and said the country worked in full compliance with international laws. He added: “Any association of the Qatari government with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed.”

Kaili, a former television presenter, met Qatar’s labour minister, Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, shortly before the World Cup began last month.

In a video statement posted on Twitter by the state-run Qatar News Agency, she said: “I believe the World Cup for Arabs has been a great tool for … political transformation and reforms.”

In a subsequent speech at the European parliament she said: “Today, the World Cup in Qatar is proof … of how sports diplomacy can achieve a historical [sic] transformation of a country.”

While Kaili has been stripped of her powers as a vice-president of the parliament, which sits in Brussels and in Strasbourg, she is still an MEP and would normally enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution.

There is, however, an exception in cases where a suspect is caught red-handed committing a crime.

According to the judicial source, Belgian police detained Kaili in possession of “bags of cash”, meaning she was brought before the judge for having been caught “in flagrante delicto”, or in the act of committing an offence.

Greek media reported that Kaili’s Italian partner, Francesco Giorgi, who works as a consultant at the European parliament, had also been detained.

The scandal sent ripples through Greece where there was mounting concern the corruption probe could dent the country’s image.

Pasok’s leader, Nikos Androulakis, wasted no time expelling the EU lawmaker from his centre-left party, telling a party conference on Sunday that he would not accept “even a grain of suspicion in matters of transparency”.

An MEP himself, Androulakis took the decision to fire the former news presenter within hours of the revelations emerging on Friday. Soon after the European social democrats group also announced it was suspending the 44-year-old.

Kaili’s ties with her own party – Greece’s third-largest political force – had become increasingly strained, prompting Androulakis to describe her as a “Trojan horse” of the governing New Democracy party.

Despite representing an opposition group in the European parliament, Kaili had been publicly backed by the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in her quest to become a vice-president.

“It is not only embarrassing for Pasok but Mitsotakis personally because he lobbied so hard for her to get the post,” said one MEP. “Kaili isn’t the only Greek [lawmaker] to make flattering remarks about Qatar.”

In April, the EU Commission’s vice-president, Margaritis Schinas, a New Democracy politician, tweeted that “short-stay visa-free travel” to member states for Qatari and Kuwaiti citizens was being proposed as a result of “the remarkable success of both governments in achieving far-reaching reforms”.

Although Schinas’ tweet was republished by the Greek media at the weekend, outlets noted there was no suggestion of impropriety on the part of the politician.

On Saturday, the president of the European parliament, Roberta Metsola, said the institution “stands firmly against corruption” and would do everything it could to “assist the course of justice”.

The socialists and democrats group in the European parliament said it was appalled by the corruption allegations and called for urgent action.

“Given the seriousness of the allegations, until the competent authorities provide relevant information and clarification, we are requesting the suspension of work on any files and plenary votes regarding the Gulf states, particularly visa liberalisation and planned visits,” the group said in a statement.

Daniel Freund, an MEP and the co-chair of the European parliament’s anti-corruption intergroup, said the allegations, if confirmed, would constitute one of the most serious corruption scandals in Brussels in recent decades.

“The current incident shows how aggressively third countries try to exert influence in the EU,” he said. “Those who do so by illegal means, or even by bribery, must be punished.”

Part of the problem, he added, was that third countries had been exempted from Brussels’s “relatively good” lobbying rules.

“Money must not buy influence in the EU,” Freund said. “The suspicion alone is intolerable. The accusations must be fully investigated. There is a threat of a loss of confidence in the European parliament, although it is actually one of the most transparent parliaments in Europe.”

Alberto Alemanno, a professor of EU law at HEC Paris, described the allegations as “the most shocking integrity scandal in the history of the EU” and said it underlined the need for reform.

Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/11/qatar-alleged-bribing-eu-officials-arrests

psyer posted:

https://twitter.com/Shirinj/status/1602113711023456263

Pershing posted:

They made their account protected...what was it?

quote:

The FIFA World Cup has been rocked by the death of a second journalist in just 48 hours. The Gulf Times reported on Sunday that Qatari photojournalist Khalid al-Misslam had died “suddenly”.

“Al-Misslam, a Qatari, died suddenly while covering the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. We believe in Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for him, and send our deepest condolences to his family," the Qatari outlet reported.

Pershing posted:

They made their account protected...what was it?

Christe Eleison posted:

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1603023251214667777?s=20&t=4pA9LlSS86I2Ax222HL53w

Vegetable posted:

His wife also said he probably would have died instantly without feeling anything. He didn’t suffer. That’s nice.

quote:

Royal Air Maroc cancelled Qatar Airways-operated flights intended to carry Morocco fans to the World Cup semi-final against France in Doha.

RAM said it followed “the latest restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities.”

Fans who had already booked match tickets or hotel rooms have been left unable to travel, though RAM said it would reimburse air tickets.