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The Canadian curling team has struck back against Sweden after the Swedes accused the Canadians of cheating at the Winter Olympics.
After Sweden accused Canada of hitting stones twice on Friday, sparking a global controversy, Canadian curler Marc Kennedy made allegations against the Swedes for inappropriately filming his throw.
“They came up with a plan here at the Olympics, as far as I know, to catch the teams in the act,” Kennedy told reporters.
“It was planned from the start yesterday. From the words their coaches were saying and the way they were running towards the officials, it was obvious something was going on, and they were trying to catch us in the act.
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Rasmus Wranaa of Sweden, left, reacts next to Ben Hebert of Canada during a men’s curling tournament between Canada and Sweden during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 13, 2026. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP)
“I know we’re not the only team they’ve done this to,” Kennedy added. “So I think it was – I don’t know what the word for it is – but like a premeditated plan to try to catch us.”
Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen told reporters he believed the video was filmed outside of strict Olympic filming rules.
“I was surprised that there was live video on the hog line outside of the OBS rules,” Thiessen said. “That seems strange to me.”
PK Press Club Digital has reached out to the Swedish curling team for comment.
According to National Review, the Swedish team denied any inappropriate filming, saying the video came from the Swedish public broadcaster.
Sweden’s Niklas Edin responded “absolutely not” when asked about Team Canada’s allegations.
“We’ve been saying this for maybe seven, eight years or something,” he said of the hog line issue. “The media team decided to put the camera on the pig line to see what was happening, to explain it to the people watching.
“It was the Swedish media, the people covering the match who did it, or so we were told. I have no idea, but that’s what we were told afterwards.”
Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) released a statement saying it did not produce the video that appears to show Canadian curlers touching stones twice after dropping them on the hog line, which circulated on social media.
The OBS added: “However, to clarify the general framework, OBS together with any duly accredited media rights holder who has acquired broadcast rights from the International Olympic Committee is authorized to film at Olympic venues.”
The feud came to a head during Friday’s match when Kennedy and Swede Oskar Eriksson became involved after Eriksson accused Kennedy of an illegal procedure called double contact.
Kennedy shouted at Eriksson: “I haven’t done it once. You can go away.”
Eriksson replied: “I’ll show you a video after the match. I’ll show you a video where it’s two meters above the hog line.”
Both parties appealed to the officials, but no results were changed.
Swiss curlers made similar comments about Canada. Swiss curler Pablo Lachat-Couchepin was filmed on a broadcast talking to his coach during a break in the fifth end during which he mentioned witnessing double contact.
WORLD CURLING FINDS NO VIOLATIONS AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF CHEATING ROCK CANADA-SWEDEN CURLING MATCH
Ben Hebert, Brett Gallant and Marc Kennedy of Canada compete in a men’s curling match against Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 14, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
“I don’t want to focus too much on it, but he hit it twice and the referee saw it,” he said, according to The Toronto Star. It is unclear whether these concerns were raised with officials.
The controversy even bled over to the women’s side on Saturday.
Canadian curler Rachel Homan had her stone removed after an official ruled she touched it again after releasing the handle. Homan protested, but under World Curling rules there is no official replay and the official’s final decision stands.
According to Athletics, video replay of the incident showed Homan’s finger brushing the rock.
World Curling released a statement regarding the claims first made by Sweden on Friday and Kennedy’s subsequent reaction.
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Brad Jacobs and Marc Kennedy of Canada in action during the men’s curling preliminary round against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
“The game umpires are located at the end of each sheet and cannot physically see each delivery infraction. However, when informed of delivery issues, the game umpires are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends. During this observation period during Friday night’s game, no infractions were recorded,” the release said.
The sport’s governing body also addressed two rules concerns, including “double contact” and contact with granite. According to the rules, players can touch the handle multiple times, but “touching the handle past the hog line is not permitted and will result in the stone being removed from play.”
Additionally, the stone will be removed from play if the stone’s granite is hit during “forward movement”.
Following the allegations, World Curling said two officials would be able to observe all deliveries from Saturday’s matches.
