Reporter Grant Wahl Says He Was Detained For Wearing Rainbow Shirt In Qatar

Soccer reporter Grant Wahl says World Cup guard detained him for almost half an hour on Monday early morning … and it was all due to the fact that of a rainbow shirt he was wearing.

Wahl appeared to Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar for the United States’ very first competition video game versus Wales — and in order to reveal his assistance for the LGBTQ+ neighborhood in a nation where homosexuality is prohibited, he used a shirt with a soccer ball and a rainbow pattern.

Almost right away after getting to the location, however, Wahl says security stopped him over the tee — and required he eliminates it.

“You have to change your shirt,” he stated one guard told him. “It’s not allowed.”

The 47-year-old says he declined — and sent a fast tweet prior to he declares guards then took his phone and detained him for approximately 25 minutes.

“One security guard told me that my shirt was ‘political’ and not allowed,” Wahl stated. “Another continually refused to give me back my phone. Another guard yelled at me as he stood above me — I was sitting on a chair by now — that I had to remove my shirt.”

Ultimately, Wahl says a security leader appeared and said sorry, and let him into the arena. Wahl says an associate for FIFA stated sorry too.