Canada has been hit with fresh allegations of cheating at the Winter Olympics after Switzerland’s curling team became the latest to accuse them of double-touching.
Friday’s curling match between Canada and Sweden was marred by controversy in Cortina after a fierce dispute over claims of double-touching broke out on the ice.
Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson repeatedly accused opponent Marc Kennedy of cheating, alleging that he was double-touching the stones, which led to a furious reaction from the Canadian.
‘I haven’t done it once,’ Kennedy shouted in a wild outburst that was captured on the SVT broadcast. ‘You can f*** off.’
And just 24 hours later, the Canadian curling team has again been accused of double-touching, this time by Switzerland.
In curling, a double touch by the person delivering the stone, prior to the hog line where the stone must be released, is not considered a violation. However, if a touch occurs inside the hog line, then it incurs an infraction.
Canada’s curling team has been hit with fresh allegations of cheating at the Winter Olympics
Swiss curler Pablo Lachat-Couchepin (right) alleged that he witnessed double-touching
During their 9-5 round-robin win over Canada on Saturday, Swiss curler Pablo Lachat-Couchepin was heard telling a coach that he witnessed double-touching from the opposition.
‘I don’t want to focus too much on it, but he double-touched, and the referee saw it,’ he said, via the Toronto Star.
It is unclear if Lachat-Couchepin raised his concerns with Olympic officials during or after the match.
The double-touching controversy has even crossed over into women’s curling, after Canada’s Rachel Homan had her stone removed when an official ruled that she had touched it again after releasing the handle.
Despite Homan’s protests, there are no replays and the official’s final verdict therefore stands.
After Friday’s drama, Curling Canada released a statement on both the cheating allegations and Kennedy’s foul-mouthed outburst on TV.
‘During the game, officials were called to the field of play and closely monitored for any release rule infractions, including those involving touching the granite following a complaint by Team Sweden,’ the statement reads. ‘After three ends of careful observation, no hogline violations or stone retouches were found by the officials.
‘The Canadian men’s team also received a verbal warning for language used during the game which we are aware of and supportive. We want to reaffirm that Curling Canada fully supports fair play, respect and sportsmanship, values that are fundamental to our sport.’
Canada’s Marc Kennedy reacted furiously after being accused of double-touching on Friday
World Curling also released its own statement on the matter, saying: ‘Game Umpires are situated at the end of each sheet and physically cannot see every delivery infraction. However, when they are made aware of delivery issues, game umpires are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends.
‘During this period of observation in the Friday evening game, there were no violations recorded.’
World Curling also confirmed that two officials would be positioned to observe all deliveries beginning with Saturday’s games.
Kennedy apologized for his language on Saturday, admitting that his emotions got the better of him after being accused of cheating.
‘I probably could’ve handled myself better in the moment,’ he told CBC. ‘I know I’m a role model for Canadian curlers, so if I apologize at all, it’s to the young curlers around the country that would’ve expected more from me in that moment.’
