Canada’s curling team faces cheating allegations at the Winter Olympics
Canada’s men’s curling squad has found itself embroiled in controversy at the Winter Olympics after facing cheating allegations from multiple opponents in consecutive matches, reports BritPanorama.
The turbulent start to their campaign began when Swedish player Oskar Eriksson claimed that the Canadians had committed a double-touch violation during their encounter on Friday. This accusation prompted a furious reaction from Canadian third Marc Kennedy, who launched into an expletive-laden tirade in response.
Kennedy shot back at Eriksson: “I haven’t done it once, you can f*** off. I don’t give a s***.” This heated confrontation marked the beginning of what has become a deeply troubled Olympic tournament for the Canadian side. Double-touching occurs when a player makes contact with the stone’s handle after releasing it beyond the hog line, the boundary marking where the stone must be let go. Although curlers may touch the handle before crossing this line, any contact afterward constitutes an infraction.
Eriksson alleged that Kennedy had violated this rule during their Friday clash. Despite the accusations, officials monitoring the match found no evidence of wrongdoing by the Canadian team. Canada did manage to secure a victory with an 8-6 scoreline, although Kennedy received a verbal warning for his choice of language during the altercation.
The following day brought fresh allegations as Switzerland faced the Canadians in their round-robin fixture on Saturday evening. Swiss player Pablo Lachat-Couchepin was overheard informing a coach that he had witnessed the same infraction, claiming others had noticed it too. He told the Toronto Star: “I don’t want to focus too much on it, but he double-touched, and the referee saw it.” However, whether Lachat-Couchepin formally raised his concerns with match officials remains unclear, as the Swiss delivered a commanding performance, defeating Canada 9-5 and handing them their opening loss of the competition.
In response to the mounting controversy, World Curling deployed two dedicated officials to patrol the sheets and scrutinise deliveries throughout all matches. Curling Canada issued a statement backing their athletes following the Swedish match, confirming that officials had closely observed play after the complaint was lodged. The governing body stated: “After three ends of careful observation, no hog line violations or stone retouches were found by the officials.”
The statement added: “We want to reaffirm that Curling Canada fully supports fair play, respect and sportsmanship, values that are fundamental to our sport.” Kennedy himself expressed regret over his outburst while standing firm on the substance of his defence, stating: “You can’t take it back. You learn from it and move on and try to get the focus back on the curling. But I’ll be honest with you guys: my whole life, when my integrity has been questioned, sometimes that’s the response I have.”
As the tournament progresses, the shadow of these allegations may linger, illustrating how even in the sport steeped in tradition, pressures can expose fractures and challenge personal principles — a reminder that integrity often wades into murky waters.
