The 2026 Winter Olympics have been hit by a high-profile ‘curling cheating’ controversy, mainly involving the Canadian and Swedish teams and later expanding to include team GB.
The recent, widespread controversy centers on a technical violation known as “double touching” the curling stone after its release.
On February 13, Swede Oskar Eriksson accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of double touching during a men’s round-robin match.
According to the Swedes, Kennedy broke the rules by touching the rock a second time after initially releasing it on the ice sheet.
Kennedy responded, “If someone says to you, ‘Hey, do you double touch all the time?’ Honestly, in that split second, I couldn’t even tell you whether I did or not.
He then suggested that the whole thing might have been “a premeditated plan to try to get us.”
Later in a match against Switzerland, a referee accused Canadian women’s skip Rachel Homan of the ‘double touching’ violation. As a result, her stone was removed, but Homan denied the claim.
The controversy later spread to team GB. On Sunday, Scottish curler Bobby Lammie found himself in the spotlight for touching a rock after the first release in the ninth end of Britain’s match against Germany. Later his stone was removed and Great Britain won 9–4.
What is the rule of World Curling?
The rule states that the stone must be released clearly from the hand before it reaches the pig line. Although players can touch up the handle before the line, they are not allowed to touch the granite body of the stone during the forward motion.
Even World Curling issued a statement: “During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not permitted. This will result in the stone being removed from play.”
In case of violation, the stone is considered burned and must be removed from the player immediately.
According to World Curling, two officials have been designated to keep an eye on things. But it is not possible to place a referee at every pig line for every match.
Why has the curling cheating controversy gone viral?
The controversy is making headlines across platforms as Canada is not considered just another team, but is in fact a historic curling superpower.
Being part of the Canadian identity, such accusations against Canada’s top athletes caused a backlash to national pride.
Moreover, the recent scandal also highlights the gap between reality and reality. Most of the videos shared by fans and broadcasters showed a clear violation of the rules.
On the contrary, World Curling does not use video replay. Ice referees’ decisions based on their supervision of the field are considered final.
replay. Decisions are made by on-ice officials whose ‘vision is decisive’.
