Accusations of cheating marred the round-robin curling match between Canada and Sweden at the Winter Olympics on Friday, as Brad Jacobs' Canadian team defeated Niklas Edin's Swedish side 8-6. Tensions flared early when Sweden alleged that Canadian players were double-touching the stone after release, prompting a halt in play and a request for officials to monitor further incidents.
Canada responded by asking for similar scrutiny of Sweden's deliveries, creating a frosty atmosphere. The situation escalated in the penultimate end when Sweden's third, Oskar Eriksson, confronted Canada's third, Marc Kennedy, accusing him of repeatedly touching the stone. Kennedy told Eriksson to 'fuck off' and later said, 'He was accusing us of cheating. I didn't like it. I've been curling professionally for 25 years.'
World Curling has introduced electronic handles on stones at these Games, which flash red if contact is maintained beyond the hog line. However, Eriksson claimed Kennedy was touching the stone itself, not the handle, avoiding detection. 'He asked who we thought was over the hog line and I pointed out who we thought was touching the rock,' Eriksson said. 'It was obviously not a red light, but some players are touching the rock according to us.'
Swedish skip Edin expressed sadness over the heated exchanges, noting the long-standing friendship between the teams. 'We're all super good friends out there... it's just sad that it gets to heated discussions on the ice instead of just curling, according to the rulebooks,' he said.
World Curling issued a statement confirming that umpires monitored deliveries for three ends after the initial complaint and found no violations. 'There were no hog line violations or retouches of the stone during the observation,' the statement read. Sweden, defending champions, have now lost three consecutive games, including defeats to Great Britain and Italy.
