Two of the strongest men’s curling teams, Sweden and Canada, engaged in a highly controversial match at the Winter Olympics.
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Published February 14, 2026
The otherwise quiet world of curling heated up at the Winter Olympics as allegations of cheating and audible name-calling overshadowed a frenetic match between two of the men’s strongest teams.
Canada’s Mark Kennedy was angered by Swedish rival Oskar Eriksson when he accused him of a “double touch” (i.e., touching the rock again after first releasing it onto the ice) during Canada’s 8-6 win in round-robin play late Friday.
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Kennedy repeatedly used expletives to deny breaking the rules. Fingers were pointed at Kennedy, who got into an argument with a member of the Swedish team on the other side of the ice, and the game was temporarily stopped.
“After 25 years on tour and four Olympic appearances, I don’t like being accused of cheating,” Kennedy, 44, said.
“So I told him where to run, because we’re the wrong team to do it,” he added.
Erickson said he simply wants everyone to “play by the same rules.”
“We want an honest and clean game, as sportsmanlike as possible,” he said. “So as soon as I see Canada’s No. 2 hitting a stone, I immediately stop the game.”
The rules state that the stone must be delivered using a handle located on the rock and must be released from the hand before it reaches the pig line. In the Olympics, this is the thick green line at both ends.
Replays showed Kennedy using the handle to release the stone and touching it again with an outstretched finger as he neared the hog line.
In the final minutes of the match, Sweden complained to the referees. Officials then remained at the pig farm to monitor the Canadian curlers, and no action was taken. Curling does not use video replay.
World Curling took no action against either team.
