DR CÉLINE GOUNDER, the wife of American soccer journalist Grant Wahl who died while covering the World Cup in Qatar last Friday, has confirmed that her husband’s death was caused by a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

In a tribute written to Wahl and released on his newsletter page on Wednesday afternoon, Dr Gounder said that Wahl’s body had arrived home on Monday and that an autopsy performed by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office determined he died from a “slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium.”

“The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms,” Gounder said. “No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him.

“His death was unrelated to Covid. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death.”

An aortic aneurysm is a bulge or ballooning of the aorta, which is the main blood vessel that runs from the heart through the chest and down into the stomach. A rupture is caused when the force of blood pumping from the heart causes a split in the layers of the artery wall. In such an instance, the aneurysm bursts, causing internal bleeding.

Speaking separately on the CBS This Morning television programme, Gounder added that the cause of her husband’s death was “just one of these things that had been likely brewing for years, and for whatever reason it happened at this point in time.”

Wahl, who was 48, was one of the most respected football journalists and authors in the world.

Having already amassed a huge following over his 26-year career, he rose to further international prominence in Qatar when he was briefly detained by security for wearing a rainbow-coloured t-shirt to a World Cup fixture.

Amid a demanding work schedule at the World Cup, he had recently spoken of feeling unwell on both a recent edition of his podcast, Futbol with Grant Wahl, and in his subscription newsletter. Complaining of a tightness in his chest, he sought medical assistance at the clinic stationed at the World Cup media center, believing he had bronchitis.

Wahl collapsed in the press box while covering Friday’s World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and Netherlands at the Lusail Stadium. He fell ill during extra-time and, after being tended to by medical professionals in the stadium, was taken to hospital.

His death was announced hours later. Condolences were expressed from all over the football world, including from the US Soccer Federation and from Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

In a tribute written to her husband on Wednesday, Céline Gounder said that “while the world knew Grant as a great journalist, we knew him as a man who approached the world with openness and love.”

She added: “Grant was an incredibly empathetic, dedicated, and loving husband, brother, uncle, and son who was our greatest teammate and fan. We will forever cherish the gift of his life; to share his company was our greatest love and source of joy.”

Gounder expressed her gratitude for the “outpouring of support, love, and sympathy from around the world” and said that “it is some comfort to know that so many people Grant reached — countless colleagues, readers, athletes, coaches, friends, and fans — are grieving alongside us.”