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Canada’s curling team has responded to Sweden after the Swedes accused the Canadians of cheating at the Winter Olympics.
After Sweden accused Canada of touching stones twice on Friday, sparking a global controversy, Canadian curler Marc Kennedy accused the Swedes of incorrectly filming his birth.
“As far as I know, they’ve come up with a plan here at the Olympics to catch the teams in the act on the pig line,” Kennedy told reporters.
“This was planned, from the first moment yesterday. From the words their coaches were saying and the way they ran towards the referees, it was evident that something was happening and that they were trying to catch us in the act.
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Rasmus Wranaa of Sweden, left, reacts alongside Canada’s Ben Hebert during a men’s curling round-robin between Canada and Sweden during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 13, 2026. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP)
“I know we’re not the only team they’ve done that to,” Kennedy added. “So I think this was, I don’t know what the word for it is, but like a premeditated plan to try to get us.”
Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen told reporters he believes the video was filmed outside the strict rules for Olympic filming.
“I was surprised that there was live video about the pig line outside of OBS rules,” Thiessen said. “That seems strange to me.”
Pak Gazette Digital has contacted the Swedish curling team for comment.
According to National Review, the Sweden team denied any inappropriate filming, claiming that the video came from the Swedish public broadcaster.
Sweden’s Niklas Edin said “absolutely not” when asked about Team Canada’s allegations.
“We’ve been saying this for maybe seven, eight years or something,” he said of the pig line issue. “The press team decided to place the camera on the line of pigs to see what was happening and explain it to the people watching.
“It was the Swedish media, the people who covered the game, who did that, at least they told us. I have no idea, but that’s what they told us afterwards.”
Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) issued a statement saying it did not produce the video that appears to show the Canadian curlers touching two stones after releasing them into the pig line that has circulated on social media.
The OBS added: “However, to clarify the general framework, the OBS, as well as any duly accredited media rights holder who has acquired broadcast rights from the International Olympic Committee, may film within Olympic venues.”
The dispute reached a boiling point during Friday’s match when Kennedy and Swede Oskar Eriksson got into a fight after Eriksson accused Kennedy of an illegal procedure called a double touch.
Kennedy yelled at Eriksson: “I haven’t done it once. You can go fuck yourself.”
Eriksson responded: “I’ll show you a video after the game. I’ll show you a video where he’s two meters above the pig line.”
Both parties appealed to the officials, but the results were not changed.
Swiss curlers have made similar comments about Canada. Swiss curler Pablo Lachat-Couchepin was caught on broadcast talking to his coach during a break in the fifth set in which he mentioned that he witnessed a double touch.
WORLD CURLING FINDS NO VIOLATIONS AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF CHEATING CANADA-SWEDEN CURLING ROCK MATCH
Canada’s Ben Hebert, Brett Gallant and Marc Kennedy compete during a men’s curling round-robin match against Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
“I don’t want to focus too much on that, but he touched twice and the referee saw it,” he said, according to The Toronto Star. It was unclear whether those concerns were raised with officials.
The controversy even reached the women’s side on Saturday.
Canadian curler Rachel Homan had her stone removed after an official ruled she had touched it again after releasing the handle. Homan protested, but under World Curling rules, there are no official replays and the referee’s final decision stands.
According the athletic, Video replay of the incident showed Homan’s finger grazing the rock.
World Curling has issued a statement addressing the claims first made by Sweden on Friday and Kennedy’s subsequent reaction.
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Brad Jacobs and Marc Kennedy of Canada in action during the men’s curling round-robin session against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
“The game officials are positioned at the bottom of each sheet and cannot physically see each delivery violation. However, when informed of delivery problems, the game officials are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends. During this observation period in Friday night’s game, no violations were recorded,” the statement said.
The sports governing body also addressed two concerns about the rules, including “double tap” and touching granite. According to the rules, players can touch the handle multiple times, but “touching the handle after the pig line is not allowed and will result in the stone being removed from the game.”
Additionally, the stone will be removed from the game if the granite of the stone is touched during the “forward movement”.
As a result of the allegations, World Curling said two officials will be in place to observe all deliveries beginning with Saturday’s games.
