Canada’s win over Sweden in Friday’s men’s curling competition included a heavy dose of controversy as profanities and cheating allegations took over the tense match.
Canadian curlier Marc Kennedy audibly cursed out Team Sweden after he was accused of cheating—the Swedes believed Kennedy was at fault for “double touching,” or touching the stone again after it was released onto the ice. “You can f--- off,” Kennedy said in response, repeating a few more swears during the heated scene.
“I don’t like being accused of cheating after 25 years on tour and four Olympic Games,” Kennedy said afterward. “So I told him where to stick it. Because we’re the wrong team to do that to.”
Olympic F-bombs: Canada and Sweden get into heated argument after claims of cheating in men’s curling pic.twitter.com/MWVk9wwIZg
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) February 14, 2026
So sad to see the video of Canadian Olympian Marc Kennedy who got caught cheating for Team Canada in curling today. He was confronted by the Swedish team and reacted with a disservice to Canada. pic.twitter.com/BYKjVv2xsv
— John Tomkinson (@johnwtomkinson) February 14, 2026
Canada, who came out on top with a 8–6 win over Sweden in round-robin play, later received a slap on the wrist from World Curling in the wake of the controversy.
World Curling announced in a statement Saturday that it issued Canadian officials a verbal warning due to Kennedy’s profane language. Further “inappropriate behavior” would result in more serious sanctions, including a potential suspension.
World Curling additionally issued a clarification of the “double touching” rule. Per the rulebook, curlers must release their stone using the handle that sits atop the rock before it reaches the hog line, which is a thick green line on the ice.
Replay videos appeared to show Kennedy touching the stone again after he released it (using his finger to touch the granite, not the handle), which is forbidden. At the time, the match’s officials didn’t record any violations. In curling, there are no video replays used to review game decisions.
In a postgame press conference, Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson, who had called out Kennedy for cheating, blamed the curling officials for not knowing the rules.
“We told the officials. They came out, and they misread the rules, sadly,” Eriksson said. “Because they thought double-touching any part of the rock is OK. And then they found out that was wrong. You can only touch the electronic part of the handle.”
As a result of the controversy, World Curling also reportedly sent an email to all Olympic curling teams clarifying the “proper release” of the stone. Officials will also be keenly observing all teams’ delivery of the stone in the remaining games in Milan.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Canadian Curler Curses Out Sweden Over Cheating Allegations: A Full Breakdown of the Fallout.
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