Sport

Canada’s Olympic curling team hit back at cheating allegations

David Benjamin
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - FEBRUARY 16: Marc Kennedy of Team Canada competes during the Men's Round Robin match between Team Czechia and Team Canada on day ten of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on February 16, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Like all competing teams, Canada’s curlers arrived at this year’s Winter Olympics in northern Italy chasing medals. But they’ve ended up fighting off accusations that they’re bending the rules. A Swedish newspaper has gone as far as branding them ‘cheats’, even dispatching a photographer to gather evidence on their apparently dubious behaviour mid-tournament. The row centres on a technical offence known as a ‘double touch’, which has suddenly become curling’s most talked about controversy… (Picture: Getty Images)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Curling - Men's Round Robin Session 5 - Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - February 14, 2026. General view of Switzerland vs Canada, Czechia vs Great Britain, Sweden vs People's Republic of China and Germany vs United States curling matches REUTERS/Issei Kato
For the uninitiated (and we don’t blame anyone not overly familiar with all the specifics of the rules of curling), here’s the issue: When delivering a stone, players must release it before the hog line (marked in green at these games). They can adjust the handle up to that line, but once it’s gone, that’s it. Touch the handle again after the stone’s release and that stone is removed from play. Touch the granite of the stone during forward motion and it’s also removed. Team Canada, it’s been said, are regularly touching the granite of the stone, affecting its path unfairly. (Picture: REUTERS)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Curling - Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Czechia vs Canada - Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - February 16, 2026. Lukas Klima of Czech Republic, Martin Jurik of Czech Republic and Lukas Klipa of Czech Republic in action during their match against Canada REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
Things got so heated the ice almost thawed after Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson repeatedly accused Canadian Marc Kennedy of wrongdoing in a clash last week. Kennedy’s response was caught on broadcast and wasn’t subtle. ‘I haven’t done it once,’ he shouted. ‘You can f*** off.’ It was the kind of Olympic moment that won’t make the official highlights reel but certainly made an impact on social media. (Picture: REUTERS)
Canada's Rachel Homan in action during the women's curling round robin session against Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Canada women’s team have also faced the same accusation. Skip Rachel Homan slammed an ‘insane’ decision after one of her stones was removed from play when she was charged with double touching during a defeat by Switzerland on Saturday. ‘I don’t understand the call. I’ll never understand it. We’ve never done that,’ an irate Homan said after the defeat. ‘It has nothing to do with us. Ump (Umpire) shouldn’t be in our game. There’s no infractions on the women’s side at all. It was absurd.’ She added: ‘My hand did not move when I released it. I have no idea what she saw. If she saw something, then look at the video. Go watch it a thousand times. You’re going to see nothing. It’s frustrating. It’s not even a thing.’ (Picture: AP)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Curling - Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Czechia vs Canada - Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - February 16, 2026. Brett Gallant of Canada in action with Ben Hebert of Canada during their match against Czech Republic REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
After the row, Swedish news outlet Aftonbladet decided to turn investigator. They sent photographer Pontus Orre to Canada’s match against Czechia on Monday, later publishing images that they claim show skip (captain) Brad Jacobs touching the granite of the stone during forward motion. Canada won the match 8-2, but the score was almost secondary to the storm brewing around it. (Picture: REUTERS)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Curling - Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - February 16, 2026. A general view of Czechia vs Canada, Britain vs Norway, Italy vs China and Sweden vs Germany matches REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
Kennedy was confronted with the image afterwards and, after initially attempting to end the interview, he said: ‘We’ve talked about this so much it’s been beaten to a pulp. It’s very unfortunate that it’s come up here at the Olympics. I can guarantee you there is not one double touch out there which is done with the intent of cheating.’ (Picture: REUTERS)
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY - FEBRUARY 16: Ben Hebert, Brad Jacobs, and Brett Gallant of Team Canada compete during the Men's Round Robin match between Team Czechia and Team Canada on day ten of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on February 16, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
He also pointed to the sport’s built-in rule-based safety net. ‘All the teams right now are allowed to call out a game official if they’re having trouble so if Czechia were not happy with something, they were more than welcome to call a game official. That’s the way the game should be.’ Kennedy also wasn’t impressed by what he sees as trial by camera. ‘This game of trying to catch people red-handed, and all to win a medal, sucks. Unfortunately. But it is what it is, the sport is developing and those in charge really need to take a good look at this.’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Curling - Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Czechia vs Canada - Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - February 16, 2026. Lukas Klima of Czech Republic, Martin Jurik of Czech Republic and Lukas Klipa of Czech Republic in action during their match against Canada REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
Curling prides itself on self-policing, something Kennedy hinted may now be under strain. ‘It’s hard for me to use the word “gentleman” after this week. But we love the idea of self-government without the need for judges. That’s where I think curling is in a bad place right now and I think that comes from a thirst for medals.’ Asked if he feared for the sport’s image, he admitted: ‘Yes, maybe. I haven’t thought about it that much, but there are probably some relationships that have been damaged by all this. Yes.’ (Picture: REUTERS)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Curling - Men's Round Robin Session 8 - Czechia vs Canada - Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - February 16, 2026. Brett Gallant of Canada, Brad Jacobs of Canada, Tyler Tardi of Canada and Marc Kennedy of Canada celebrate winning their match against Czech Republic REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
World Curling has already tweaked its approach. After earlier controversy involving Canada, two umpires were positioned to observe deliveries across matches. Now they will only monitor at the request of teams, and for a minimum of three ends. The governing body confirmed: ‘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.’ It added that officials ‘will now only monitor athlete deliveries at the request of the competing teams.’ (Picture: REUTERS)

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