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The controversy in Olympic curling widened Sunday as the Great Britain men’s team was hit with the same violation that injured the Canadians two days in a row.
Great Britain was playing Germany in the round robin when officials said Scottish curler Bobby Lammie hit a stone after releasing it onto the ice. Great Britain had a stone removed due to “double contact”, but still ended up winning 9-4.
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Great Britain’s Bobby Lammie in action during the men’s curling round robin session against Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, February 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
The issue first erupted Friday night when the Swedish men’s team accused Canada of “double contact.” A stone was later removed during the Canadian women’s match against Switzerland. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the two Canadian curlers committing the penalties. But both teams have denied any wrongdoing.
World Curling said that starting Saturday it would designate two officials to move between the four curling games during each round, but noted it was “not possible” to have referees stationed at each line of play – the line where stones must be released by hand.
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Bobby Lammie of Great Britain in action during the men’s curling session against Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, February 15, 2026. ( (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
On Sunday, World Curling said two referees who previously actively monitored deliveries would now only monitor athletes’ deliveries at the request of competing teams.
Sweden’s Johanna Heldin, a substitute for the women’s team, expressed concern that the rhythm of the game would be disrupted by the extra monitoring.
“If they incorporate that, I think it will probably disrupt the speed of the game,” said Johanna Heldin, the Swedish women’s team substitute. “We’ve always been a game that tries to play by the rules and have a high level of sportsmanship, so hopefully we can figure that out.”
American Tara Peterson expressed support for more rebroadcasts.
“There are cases where an instant replay would be huge,” she said.
Marc Kennedy of Canada in action during the men’s curling round robin against China at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, February 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
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Until Sunday, the allegations were limited to Canadian curlers. But now British curlers are also mired in controversy.
