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A curling matchup between Canada and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics got a bit heated.
In what eventually became an 8-6 win for Canada’s Team Brad Jacobs over Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin, a cheating controversy led to a viral exchange of words between members of each squad.
Sweden's Oskar Eriksson appeared to accuse Canada's Marc Kennedy of double-touching stones, trying to gain an advantage, to which Kennedy responded with some profanity, denying those allegations.
While the Swedish team thought Kennedy and Canada were making contact with the stone beyond the hog line -- the line where curlers have to let go of the stone -- World Curling reportedly later said that there were "no hog line violations or retouches of the stone during the observation."
Here's a look at the cheating accusations in Canada vs. Sweden curling, and the heated moments afterward.
MORE 2026 OLYMPICS: Live medal tracker | Viewer's guide | Day-by-day schedule
Canada-Sweden curling fight
Near the end of Friday's contest between Canada and Sweden, Eriksson could be heard claiming that Kennedy double-touched his rock after releasing it before the hog line.
Kennedy didn't take those allegations well, telling Eriksson he should "f--- off."
"I haven't done it once," Kennedy said in an exchange that was captured by the broadcast.
Eriksson was insistent, however, saying he could prove the cheating by showing "a video after the game."
“I’ll show you a video where it’s two meters over the hog line," Erikkson said.
Again, Kennedy responded with profanity.
"How about you walking around on my peel last end, dancing around in the house here? How about that?" Kennedy said. "Come on Oskar, just f--- off."
Sweden had complained to officials about alleged double touches throughout the match, including pauses of play entirely early on to discuss it.
“You saw it. You saw the touching, right?” Eriksson said to the judge during the first complaint shown on the broadcast, according to The Athletic. “So is he allowed to do it or not? That’s the question.”
While both sides of the exchange made their cases to officials, Canada went on to win 8-6, improving to 3-0 thus far. After the match, Kennedy was asked about those cheating accusations.
"It's good. It's sport. It's the Olympics. Both teams are trying to win. Oskar was accusing us of cheating. I didn't like it," Kennedy said, per Reuters. "I've been curling professionally for 25 years."
Swedish curler Niklas Edin also spoke on the cheating allegations:
Here are postgame quotes from Nik Edin.
Who talks about what happened in the game against Canada tonight.
Some really solid points made by Edin here, specifically relating to rule enforcement. Which we know is an issue in curling. pic.twitter.com/pm52K8OYg4
Did Canada cheat in curling?
The accusations the Swedish team was making was that Kennedy and Canada were making illegal contact with the stone beyond the hog line, which is the point on the ice where curlers are required to let go of the curling stone during delivery.
A video of Kennedy went viral on social media after the match, where he does extend his finger toward the stone after a release, and it appears he was still touching it by the time it hit the edge of the line where contact must stop:
Canada cheating in Curling. What a idiots. These players should be banned. pic.twitter.com/334LlTFB9Z
— Dellarium (@Dellarium1) February 13, 2026According to The Athletic, the judge told Erickkson he couldn't tell for certain if Kennedy had violated any rules.
“I saw his finger motion, but I cannot say if he really touched it or not,” he reportedly said.
In a statement to Reuters, World Curling said "there were no hog line violations or retouches of the stone during the observation," with umpires being "set at the hog line to monitor deliveries for three ends after the issue was first raised during the game."
On Feb. 22, the CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, David Shoemaker, told the AP that he believed that it was "not cheating," as the potential rule violation was comparable to "a foot fault in tennis or traveling in basketball."
"For me it's like a foot fault in tennis or traveling in basketball," Shoemaker said, per ESPN. "If LeBron James takes four steps on the way to the hoop, I wouldn't say LeBron James is a cheater."
"I understand the furor that's erupted on social media, but that part is not fair and hopefully we will see that go away."
MORE: Updated Team USA medal count at 2026 Olympics
Canada curling controversy vs. Switzerland
Canada men's curling was hit with a second double-touching allegation on Saturday, when Switzerland's Pablo Lachat-Couchepin told a coach, "I don’t want to focus too much on it, but he double-touched, and the referee saw it," according to the Toronto Star.
Switzerland, however, would win the match, and Canada was not penalized, nor was it clear whether the Canadian team was ever informed about a potential violation.
On the women's side, Canada saw a stone removed on Sunday for double-touching, though Rachel Homan defended herself and said she has "never done it" in her life.
What is a double-touching violation?
A double-touch violation in curling is when a player touches a moving stone after the initial release, after it has crossed the hog line. Before the hog line, it is legal to touch the stone, but if a player does it beyond the hog line, it results in the stone being removed or placed at the opposing team's discretion.
“A stone must be clearly released from the hand before it reaches the hog line at the delivery end. If the player fails to do so, the stone is immediately removed from play by the delivering team,” World Curling’s governing rules say, per The Athletic.
“If a hog line violation stone is not immediately removed and strikes another stone, the delivered stone must be removed from play by the delivering team, and any displaced stones are replaced, by the nonoffending team, to their positions prior to the violation taking place.”
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How do electronic handles detect double-touching in Olympic curling?
There are measures in place to help prevent extra touches in curling. At the 2026 Winter Olympics, World Curling has introduced electronic handles on the stones that tell officials if double-touching with the stone happened, per Reuters.
Every stone's handle has a touch sensor, which interacts with a magnetic strip embedded in the ice. But Erikkson, according to Reuters, thought Kennedy was touching the stone — not the handle with the sensor — so the red lights did not flash.
"He asked who we thought was over the hog line and I pointed out who we thought was touching the rock," he said, per Reuters. "It was obviously not a red light, but some players are touching the rock according to us. And that's not allowed ... We told the officials. They came out and they misread the rules, sadly. Because they thought double touching any part of the rock is okay. And then they found out that was wrong. You can only touch the electronic part of the handle."
Kennedy also reportedly acknowledged the electronic handles as his defense for him and his team not cheating.
"There's hog line devices on there. I don't know," he said, per Reuters. "And he's still accusing us of cheating. I didn't like it. So I told him where to stick it."
"I don't really know what he's trying to get out of it. And yeah, onward. But I'm not going to stand there and take cheating lightly."
Canada response to cheating allegations
The Canadian men's curling team strongly denies accusations of cheating in their game against Sweden.
Kennedy, the Canadian player at the center of the controversy, denied any intentional wrongdoing. He stated that he has never cheated to gain an advantage in his 25-year career.
Kennedy also claimed that the allegations were a "premeditated" effort by Sweden to unsettle the Canadian team.
Canada has also accused Sweden of cheating3, a claim the Swedish team denies.
BREAKING: Canada are accusing Sweden of improperly filming the hog line during last night's game in order to "run to the officials" with cheating claims. Video going around that appears to have been shot from the stands. Swedish team denies any involvement https://t.co/LythgKhCNF
— Jonny Wakefield (@jonnywakefield) February 14, 2026World curling response to cheating allegations
World Curling addressed the allegations, saying that "no violations were recorded."
"Game Umpires are situated at the end of each sheet and physically cannot see every delivery infraction," the organization said in a statement. "However, when they are made aware of delivery issues, game umpires are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends. During this period of observation in the Friday evening game, there were no violations recorded," the statement began, noting that video replay is not used during games and an umpire’s call is final."
World Curling issued a formal verbal warning to Team Canada following Kennedy’s conduct during the game. In a statement, officials warned that any further "inappropriate behavior" — as defined by Rule R.19 — would trigger additional sanctions. Under this rule, Kennedy now faces a potential suspension if he commits another violation.
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