Curling isn\u2019t normally a sport associated with heated words, but a competitive sport is still a competitive sport, meaning things can ratchet up, particularly in a high-stakes event like the Olympics.<\/p>\n
During the ninth end of Canada\u2019s men\u2019s curling round-robin match with Sweden at the 2026 Winter Games, Oskar Eriksson, Team Sweden\u2019s vice-skip, accused Canadian vice-skip Marc Kennedy of cheating.<\/p>\n
Kennedy didn\u2019t take the accusation lightly.<\/p>\n
(Warning: explicit language)<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can f*** off,\u201d television microphones picked up Kennedy saying, incredulously. \u201cI haven\u2019t done it once, don\u2019t chirp\u201d<\/p>\n
Eriksson then responded: \u201cI’ll show you a video after the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
To explain what\u2019s happening here, TV mics had been picking up both teams complaining to officials about the opposing sides’ releases, with Kennedy\u2019s release being a constant thorn in Sweden\u2019s side until Eriksson seemingly couldn\u2019t take it anymore and directly confronted the Canadian about it.<\/p>\n
The issue that Sweden has with Kennedy\u2019s release stems from a rule where you\u2019re not allowed to touch a released stone after it passes the hog line, something that X\/Twitter sleuths make it seem like he was doing.<\/p>\n
Early in the match, the Swedish side tried to make their case known, complaining to an official about the possible infraction.<\/p>\n
CBC curling expert John Cullen agreed that it was a good idea for Sweden to at least bring up the tendency that Kennedy has, but unless there was clear and obvious evidence of Kennedy touching the stone after it crossed the line, it would be tough for any discipline to be levied on Canada.<\/p>\n
The Twitter sleuthing does look quite convincing, but, in a statement procured by the CBC’s Devin Heroux, officials found no wrongdoing on Canada’s part.<\/p>\n
“There were no hogline violations or retouches of the stone,” the statement read.<\/p>\n
Later on Saturday, World Curling, the world governing body for curling, released another statement attempting to clarify what a “proper release” is.<\/p>\n
Most notable is this rule clarification:<\/p>\n
“A stone must be delivered by using the handle of the stone. Touching the granite at any time during the forward motion is not allowed and considered a touched moving stone which results in the stone being removed from play.”<\/p>\n
The Canadians ultimately defeated Sweden 8-6 to improve to 3-0 in round-robin play.<\/p>\n