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The controversy in Olympic curling expanded on Sunday when the Great Britain men’s team suffered the same infraction that affected the Canadians two days in a row.
Great Britain was facing Germany in a round-robin match when officials said Scottish curler Bobby Lammie touched a rock after dropping it on the ice. Great Britain had a stone taken off due to the “double touch” but still finished with a 9-4 victory.
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Great Britain’s Bobby Lammie in action during the men’s curling round robin session against Germany, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, February 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
The issue first arose on Friday night when the Swedish men’s team accused Canada of “double touch.” Next, in Canada’s women’s match against Switzerland, a stone was removed. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show both Canadian curlers committing the penalties. But both teams denied wrongdoing.
World Curling said starting Saturday it would designate two officials to move between the four curling matches during each round, but noted that it was “not possible” to have umpires located on each hog line, the line where stones must be released by hand.
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Great Britain’s Bobby Lammie in action during the men’s curling round robin session against Germany, at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, February 15, 2026. ( (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
On Sunday, World Curling said two referees who previously actively monitored deliveries will now only monitor athletes’ deliveries at the request of competing teams.
Sweden’s Johanna Heldin, a substitute on the women’s team, was concerned that the pace of the game would be affected by the extra monitoring.
“If they introduce that, I think it will probably alter the speed of the game,” said Johanna Heldin, a substitute for the Swedish women’s team. “We’ve always been a sport that’s about following the rules and having that high level of sportsmanship, so hopefully we can figure it out.”
American Tara Peterson expressed support for more repetition.
“There are cases where an instant replay would be huge,” he said.
Marc Kennedy of Canada in action during the men’s curling round robin session against China, at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, February 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
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Until Sunday, the accusations had been limited to Canadian curlers. But now, British curlers have also found themselves embroiled in controversy.
