Tensions rise in curling after Sweden accuse Canada of double-tapping their stones
Accusations of cheating, heated exchanges, and claims of illicit filming have stirred controversy in curling at the Winter Olympics. The situation escalated with changes to officiating protocols and protests from teams, marking a turbulent period at the Cortina Curling Stadium.
The incident began on Friday when Canada's Marc Kennedy engaged in a heated verbal dispute with Swedish player Oskar Eriksson near the conclusion of Canada's 8-6 victory. The Swedish team alleged that Kennedy was repeatedly double-touching stones—releasing the handle properly but then nudging the stone with his finger to adjust its path, an action prohibited by the rules.
Despite the accusations, both teams signed the scorecards, confirming the result in a sport that prides itself on player self-governance. World Curling later affirmed that "decisions made during a game are final" and that video replays are not used to "re-umpire" decisions. The only penalty issued was to Kennedy for swearing during the confrontation.
During the dispute, Eriksson told Kennedy,
"I'll show you the video after", and indeed, footage emerged after the match showing Kennedy committing the double-touch. This raised questions about the source of the video.
Canada responded by suggesting the video was part of a premeditated setup, alleging that Sweden had deployed someone to catch them violating the rules in a game traditionally based on trust and respect.
Is VAR or Hawk-Eye the answer?
The controversy deepened on Saturday when Kennedy was again reported for the same infraction by Switzerland during their 9-5 win over Canada. No disciplinary action was taken against Kennedy, a four-time Olympian aged 44.
In response, World Curling announced the deployment of additional officials for the remainder of the Games to monitor for double-touching. This led to Canadian women's skip Rachel Holman and Team GB's Bobby Lammie being penalized for double touches. However, these incidents involved fingers lingering on the stone after release rather than deliberate infractions, and monitoring appeared inconsistent.
Teams protested the new enforcement approach, prompting World Curling to revise the protocol on Sunday. Under the new rules, teams could request monitoring of stone delivery if they suspected violations, with monitoring lasting a minimum of three ends. However, implementation of this protocol was reportedly inconsistent.
Given curling's reliance on players to determine stone positions using precise measuring tools, the question arises: how should the sport address these issues? One advancement has been the introduction of electric sensors to detect if stones are released before the hog line. Yet, there is discussion about further modernization through video technology.
Team GB lead Hammy McMillan supports this idea, stating,
"You bring in VAR or Hawk-Eye and each team gets a challenge or two, so you've got to be dead certain that somebody did that [violation]. I think that would be quite cool, it would maybe make curling a bit more modernised. I think video review could be the next thing, with teams getting challenges."
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