World Curling reverses officiating policy amid Olympic scandal

Olympic Curling Controversy Deepens with Double-Touch Violations

The traditionally genteel sport of curling has been engulfed in a cheating scandal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, after multiple teams had stones removed for double-touching violations and the sport’s governing body reversed course on its officiating procedures twice in three days.

World Curling announced Sunday that umpires would now only monitor athlete deliveries at the request of competing teams, walking back its decision from Saturday to actively position officials at the hog line to watch all throws. The policy change came after talks with National Olympic Committee representatives and followed a weekend in which Canada’s Rachel Homan and Great Britain’s Bobby Lammie both had stones disqualified.straitstimes

The Initial Flashpoint

The controversy began Friday when Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of touching the stone after releasing it during Canada’s 8-6 victory. Kennedy, a 44-year-old four-time Olympian, responded with profanity, igniting a heated exchange that drew international attention.cbc

“I don’t like being accused of cheating after 25 years on tour and four Olympic Games,” Kennedy said. “So, I told him where to stick it. Because we’re the wrong team to do that to.”espn

World Curling issued a verbal warning to Canada for Kennedy’s language. The organization said its officials observed no violations during the match but clarified that video replay is not used to overturn on-ice decisions.worldcurling

Violations Called Under Heightened Scrutiny

After implementing increased monitoring on Saturday, officials called Homan for a double-touch during her first throw against Switzerland—a match Canada lost 8-7 in an extra end. Homan denied the infraction, telling reporters: “Like, absolutely not. Zero-percent chance.”people

On Sunday morning, Lammie was called for the same violation during Great Britain’s 9-4 win over Germany.cbc

Canadian men’s skip Brad Jacobs, who watched Homan’s match from the stands, called the decision to remove her stone “despicable”. Canada coach Paul Webster questioned the competence of officials, saying: “We have untrained people doing things that they’ve never done before and we’re not at some bonspiel in Saskatchewan just trying things out, we’re at the Olympics.”straitstimes

A Sport Grapples with Its Honor Code

The scandal has exposed tensions between curling’s traditional reliance on self-policing and the pressures of Olympic competition. Swedish skip Niklas Edin noted that unlike in hockey, curlers are expected to call their own violations.nytimes

“We want a game that is as sportsmanlike, honest and clean as possible,” Eriksson said after Friday’s match.espn

Kennedy later acknowledged he “probably could have managed the situation better” but suggested the Swedish team’s accusations were “a premeditated plan to catch us.”cbc