A heated dispute over double-touching rules has overshadowed the men's curling competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Sweden accused Canada of an illegal infraction during their February 13 match, sparking verbal clashes and calls for stricter officiating. The controversy has prompted rule clarifications and affected team performances, including Sweden's elimination from medal contention.
The controversy erupted on February 13 during a men's round-robin game between Canada and Sweden, which Canada won 8-6. Sweden's Oskar Eriksson accused Canada's Marc Kennedy of double-touching—touching the granite stone after releasing its handle but before it crossed the hog line, a violation that removes the stone from play. Officials stationed at the ends of the ice did not spot the infraction, and World Curling confirmed no replay technology is used in the sport.
Tensions boiled over as Kennedy, captured on a hot mic, told Eriksson to "fuck off" after the ninth end. Kennedy later expressed regret for his outburst but defended his integrity, stating, "I've curled my whole life, never once with the intention of getting an advantage through cheating." Swedish skip Niklas Edin described the incident as a "real shitstorm," noting it led to unexpected yelling on the Olympic ice.
World Curling responded by clarifying that touching the granite during forward motion is prohibited and briefly assigned extra officials to monitor hog-line deliveries. This policy lasted only a day: on February 14, Canada's Rachel Homan had a stone removed in a women's match against Switzerland, calling the call "insane," while Britain's Bobby Lammie faced a similar disqualification against Germany. After consultations, officials reverted to intervening only upon team requests.
The row extended when fans accused Canadian skip Brad Jacobs of double-touching during an 8-2 win over Czechia on February 16. Kennedy lamented, "The whole spirit of curling is dead, unfortunately," attributing scrutiny to the medal chase. Coach Paul Webster called the added officiating "despicable" due to untrained volunteers.
Sweden, the defending champions, suffered from the fallout, losing 9-4 to Switzerland on February 17 and ending round-robin play at 1-6, eliminated from semifinals. Edin called it a "horrible week" and questioned his Olympic future, saying, "We've got to see if it's still fun to curl." Despite the negativity, Jacobs noted it drew unprecedented attention to the sport. Canada remains in medal contention in both men's and women's events.
