Canada Faces Cheating Allegations in Curling
Canada is under scrutiny again as claims of cheating surface. These allegations arose after members of the Swiss men’s curling team brought up concerns about double touches during a round-robin match on Saturday. This development follows recent adjustments made by World Curling in response to earlier complaints regarding Canada’s Mark Kennedy.
In the match where Switzerland defeated Canada 9-5, their triumph was overshadowed by this latest controversy. The win marked Switzerland’s fourth consecutive victory, making them the only undefeated team in the competition held in Milan-Cortina.
Swiss curler Pablo Rachat-Couchpin appeared on air during a break, mentioning he’d seen a double touch. He cautiously stated, “I don’t want to draw too much attention to it, but he made a double touch and the referee saw it.” However, it remains unclear if officials were alerted to these concerns.
The issue continued onto the women’s competition later that day. Canadian curler Rachel Homan found her stone removed after officials determined she had touched it again after releasing the handle. Despite her protests, a replay wasn’t conducted per World Curling rules, leaving the referee’s decision standing. A video replay showed Homan’s fingers grazing the stone, complicating the narrative.
These new accusations followed a statement from World Curling addressing initial claims made by Sweden and Kennedy’s reaction during a live broadcast. They mentioned that match umpires can’t see all violations but noted that no delivery violations were recorded during the previous day’s play.
World Curling also highlighted specific rules around curler conduct, including issues related to double touches and contact with granite. A player can adjust their handle, but any touch after the hog line can lead to removal from play. To combat the allegations, World Curling plans to assign two officials to monitor all deliveries starting with the next match.
Kennedy had previously refuted claims made by Sweden’s Oskar Ericsson, asserting, “Who’s doing it? I’ve never done it. You can stop.” Although Canada received a verbal warning regarding his choice of words, Kennedy later issued a brief apology, acknowledging he could have handled the situation differently. “I know that I am a role model for curlers in Canada,” he remarked, expressing a desire to set a better example.
In comments that hinted at tension, he suggested Sweden’s accusations might be part of a strategy against his team, implying they had “a deliberate plan to try to get us.”
