The 2026 Winter Olympics have proven not to be entirely ice cool – with the curling competition rocked by allegations of “cheating”.
The controversy revolves around claims of “double-touching” the curling stone after its release, with the Canadian men’s and women’s team, along with the British men’s team, all accused of the infraction.
When did the dispute begin?
The dispute began during an explosive match on Friday, when Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the ice.
Kennedy responded with an expletive-laden outburst, which later led to his team being issued with a verbal warning by the World Curling governing body for “inappropriate language”.
Canada won the match 8-6, however a video taken by Swedish public broadcaster SVT appeared to show a clear double-touch by Kennedy during the game.
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Canadian women and GB men dragged into controversy
World Curling said no violations were recorded during Friday’s match, but the level of umpiring would be increased in light of the fallout.
Late on Saturday, an umpire accused acclaimed Canadian skip Rachel Homan of the same infraction in a game against Switzerland. The stone was removed from play.
Homan denied the allegation, however a video circulating on social media appeared to show the double-touch.
Canada lost the game 8-7.
And then on Sunday, in the ninth end of Britain’s round-robin game against Germany, officials said Scotland’s Bobby Lammie touched a stone after releasing it.
The stone was removed, but Team GB went on to secure a comfortable 9-4 win.
The rules against double-touching
After the uproar, World Curling has since clarified that double-tapping is not allowed.
The governing body said that when delivering a stone, players can retouch the handle as many times as they wish before the hog line.
However, touching the handle after the hog line is a violation and will result in the stone being removed from play.
During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is also not allowed and will result in it being removed from play.
The rules state: “The curling stone must be delivered using the handle of the stone.”
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Umpire monitoring protocol
World Curling does not currently use video replay to re-umpire game decisions – and decisions made during a game are final.
Although initially stating officiating would be ramped up following Friday’s fallout, the governing body appeared to row back on its decision in a statement issued on Sunday.
World Curling said: “Following a meeting with representatives of the competing National Olympic Committees, an update in the stone monitoring protocol has been confirmed, beginning with the evening session on Sunday 15 February.
“This change in protocol will see the two umpires who had previously been actively monitoring athlete deliveries remain available in the field of play, but will now only monitor athlete deliveries at the request of the competing teams.
“The umpires when requested will monitor deliveries for a minimum of three ends.”
What have the sport stars said?
Kennedy said he rued his choice of language during Friday’s fiery clash, but stated: “I can’t think of once in my entire career where I’ve done something to gain a competitive advantage by cheating.
“I take that very seriously. And it’s been a really long career. So, when you get called out, my instinct was to be a little bit of a bulldog.
“I don’t regret defending myself or my teammates in that moment. I just probably regret the language I used.”
In response to the footage, he said: “If somebody said to you, ‘hey, do you double-touch all the time?’ I honestly, in that split second of a moment, I couldn’t even tell you if I do or not.”
He then suggested the whole thing might have been “premeditated planning to try to catch us”.
“They’ve come up with a plan to catch teams in the act,” Kennedy said.
Homan, meanwhile, postulated that she was being unfairly targeted because of the controversy on the men’s side.
“I don’t understand the call. I’ll never understand it. We’ve never done that,” she said.
“It has nothing to do with us.”
Team GB men’s skip Bruce Mouat ignored Lammie’s infraction in a statement issued after the win against Germany, instead focusing on their upcoming games.
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What next?
Canada is a curling powerhouse and its reputation is currently bruised.
With the nation’s integrity under attack in front of a global audience at the Olympics, which touts the values of respect and friendship, it cannot afford another misstep.
The Canadian men will not face Sweden again before the semifinals, should both teams make it that far in the competition.
If they do, the showdown will undoubtedly make for compelling viewing.
