Curling Controversy at the Winter Olympics: Cheating Accusations Mar Canada-Sweden Match
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – A men’s curling match at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics descended into a heated exchange Friday, as Sweden accused Canada of cheating during their round-robin game. The incident, which occurred after the ninth end of an 8-6 Canadian victory, involved accusations of illegally touching the stone after release, sparking a profanity-laced confrontation between the teams.
The dispute centers around whether Canadian third Marc Kennedy made contact with the stone after it passed the hog line – the boundary before which a curler must release the stone for it to be considered in play. According to Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson, Kennedy was touching the stone beyond this line, a violation of curling rules.
“Apparently it’s OK touching the rock after the hog line,” Eriksson said, as reported by the Toronto Star. Kennedy’s immediate response was a defiant denial, reportedly stating, “Who? I haven’t done it once. Don’t chirp.”
The tension escalated, with Kennedy allegedly using profanities directed at Eriksson. Eriksson stated he would review video footage after the game to support his claims. “I’ll show you a video after the game,” Eriksson said. “I’ll show you a video where it’s two metres over the hog line.”
This year’s Winter Olympics introduced electronic handles on the curling stones, designed to detect such violations. These handles feature a touch sensor and a magnetic strip that trigger a red light if a player continues to touch the handle after the stone crosses the hog line. However, Eriksson argued that the Canadians were making contact with the granite of the stone itself, which wouldn’t activate the sensor.
“He asked who we thought was over the hog line and I pointed out who we thought was touching the rock,” Eriksson explained to Reuters. “It was obviously not a red light, but some players are touching the rock, according to us. And that’s not allowed. … We told the officials. They came out and they misread the rules, sadly.” Eriksson further clarified that officials initially believed any touch of the stone, regardless of where on the stone, was permissible.
Prior to the heated exchange, the Swedish team had requested officials monitor Canada’s deliveries for potential violations, and Canada reciprocated by asking officials to observe Sweden. World Curling officials responded by monitoring the hog line for three ends following the initial complaint, but ultimately found “no hog line violations or retouches of the stone during the observation.”
Kennedy, while denying the accusations, expressed frustration with being accused of cheating. “It’s good. It’s (a) sport. It’s the Olympics. Both teams are trying to win,” he said, according to Reuters. “Oskar was accusing us of cheating. I didn’t like it. I’ve been curling professionally for 25 years.” He then added, “I told him where to stick it.”
The win moved Canada to a 3-0 record in round-robin play, while Sweden fell to 0-3. Both teams are scheduled to return to action on Saturday, February 14th, with Canada facing Switzerland and Sweden taking on China at 8:05 a.m. ET.
