New Allegations Rock the Olympic Curling Arena
The Olympic Games have once again become a battleground for curling controversies, with Team Canada at the center of a storm. This time, the Swiss team has accused the Canadians of employing a banned technique known as 'double-touching'.
On Friday, a heated argument and a cheating allegation cast a shadow over Canada's 8-6 victory over Sweden. Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson alleged that Canadian third Marc Kennedy touched the stone after it crossed the hog line. Kennedy vehemently denied the accusation, stating, 'I haven't done it once. You can f*** off.' Eriksson countered with a promise to show video evidence, claiming the stone was two meters over the hog line. Kennedy's response? 'I don't give a s***.'
The curling rules, as outlined in Section 5E, are clear: 'A stone must be released from the hand before reaching the hog line. Failure to do so results in the stone's immediate removal from play.' Footage indeed showed Kennedy touching the stone with his index finger after it passed the hog line.
The controversy didn't end there. On Saturday, Swiss curler Pablo Lachat-Couchepin accused Canada of double-touching during their 9-5 win. Lachat-Couchepin stated, 'He double-touched, and the referee saw it.' The women's team faced similar scrutiny, with Rachel Homan's stone being removed due to an official's ruling that she touched it after release and crossing the hog line. Homan, caught on a hot mic, exclaimed, 'Like absolutely not. Zero per cent chance... I’ve never done it in my life.'
The Swiss team won that match 8-7. These new allegations come on the heels of a World Curling statement addressing the initial Swedish claims. The statement noted that game umpires, positioned at the end of each sheet, can't observe every delivery infraction. However, when informed, they can observe the delivery for three ends. In the Friday game, no violations were recorded.
As a result of these ongoing controversies, World Curling has decided to position two officials to observe all deliveries starting with Saturday's games, ensuring fair play and transparency.
