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Tempers flared Friday during an Olympic curling match between Canada and Sweden, with a blasphemous insult hurled after allegations of cheating.
Canada beat Sweden 8-6, and Canadian third Marc Kennedy and Swede Oskar Eriksson got into the match after Eriksson accused Kennedy of an illegal procedure called double contact with rocks after releasing them on the hog line.
Kennedy shouted, “I haven’t done it once. You can go away,” to Eriksson.
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Canada’s Ben Hebert, Brad Jacobs and Brett Gallant compete in the men’s curling preliminary round against 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)
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 sides appealed to the authorities, but no results were changed.
Swedish team chief Fredrik Lindberg said in a statement: “At this stage, the Swedish Olympic Committee will not request an investigation into the events that occurred during Friday’s match,” according to The National Review.
POWER OUTAGE STOPS MOMENTS OF CURLING COMPETITION AT MILAN CORTINA OLYMPICS AFTER MATCHES START
Rasmus Wranaa of Sweden, left, reacts next to Ben Hebert of Canada during the men’s curling round robin during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 13, 2026. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP)
Kennedy responded to the allegations after the match.
“I have a lot of respect for Oskar Eriksson,” he said. “He’s one of the best players ever. I just told him…I’ll never accuse you of cheating. I’ve been on tour for 25 years. He pulled a hog line referee on us to make sure we didn’t double touch. The hog line referee was there for six ends, he never said anything and he’s still talking about it in the ninth end.
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The Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium on February 4, 2026, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
“I don’t like being accused of cheating, so I told him what I thought.”
According to World Curling policy, a moving stone cannot be touched beyond the hog line, but it is not a violation if a thrower touches the stone twice before the line.
