Canada’s men’s and women’s teams, and Team GB’s Bobby Lammie, were accused of “double-touching” the stone after release at the Winter Olympics. This banned action involves making secondary contact with the granite to potentially alter its course. These cheating allegations have overshadowed the sport’s traditional “spirit of curling” and its reputation for integrity and sportsmanship.

Tensions erupted during a match between Canada and Sweden when Oskar Eriksson accused Marc Kennedy of a violation. Kennedy responded with a foul-mouthed outburst, telling his rival to “f*** off.” While Kennedy escaped punishment for the alleged touch, he received an official warning from World Curling for his “inappropriate language” during the spat.

Despite the Canadians’ firm denials, Swedish broadcaster SVT released footage appearing to show Kennedy touching the stone twice. Later, a photographer was dispatched to capture images of Canada’s Brad Jacobs allegedly committing the same infraction. Social media clips of Rachel Homan also went viral, prompting an umpire to remove one of her stones.

Marc Kennedy hit back at the accusations, suggesting the controversy was a premeditated plan by rivals to disrupt Canada’s performance. He claimed teams had used cameras to target them specifically, stating that the “spirit of curling is dead” because opponents are now actively looking for infractions rather than trusting one another.

The controversy centres on “hog line” rules, where players must release the stone handle before the line. While touching the handle is allowed early on, touching the granite stone during forward motion is strictly forbidden. The electronic sensors in the handles only detect hand placement, not accidental finger brushes on the rock itself.

Following the uproar, World Curling initially increased on-ice officiating to monitor deliveries closely. However, they soon made a rule change U-turn after teams complained. Umpires now only monitor deliveries at the specific request of a competing team for a minimum of three ends, rather than constant surveillance.

Despite the intense scrutiny and the cheat storm, Canada’s men’s team reached the gold medal final against Team GB. While the drama has divided the curling community, experts argue that incidental “double-touching” rarely provides a competitive advantage and is often just a result of muscle memory or technique.