DOHA: Only days days after the death of the United States soccer journalist Grant Wahl, a local journalist has died covering the finals.

Khalid al-Misslam, a Qatari photojournalist working for Al Kass TV, died on Sunday. The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear.

Al-Misslam worked in the creative department of Al-Kass TV. The media outlet published the story remembering him with a black background.  In the past he had worked for Al-Anabi racing team and was the co-founder of Red Dot Films.

“He was a highly ethical person, and an exceptional artist in his field. He has been my inspiration in sports photography since we started in this job,” his colleague Khaleel Nadoum, from Kuwait, told international sports journalists association AIPS.

Circumstances around his death were not officially informed but AIPS confirmed he was not working at the time of his death and had reportedly died of a heart attack.

Many colleagues and social media users paid tributes on Twitter. 

Three weeks ago, ITV’s technical director Roger Pearce also died in Qatar. He had been embarking on his eighth World Cup before scheduled retirement.

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