Canada’s curling team has responded to accusations from Sweden regarding cheating during the Winter Olympics. On Friday, Mark Kennedy, a Canadian curler, claimed that the Swedish team had filmed his delivery inappropriately. This allegation came after Sweden suggested that Canada may have committed a foul known as double touching, igniting a significant controversy.
“It seems they set up a plan to catch us in the act with their filming,” Kennedy expressed to the media. He mentioned that the actions of the Swedish coaches suggested something was afoot, indicating that they were attempting to monitor Canada’s performance closely.
He highlighted that this isn’t the first time such tactics have been employed against them. “I think it was a premeditated effort to undermine us,” he said, feeling quite certain about it.
Curling Canada’s CEO, Nolan Thiessen, took issue with the filming itself, describing it as against the strict regulations around Olympic filming. “I found it odd that there was live footage from a pig line that clearly breached OBS rules,” he stated.
In response, the Swedish curling team denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the video in question was filmed by their public broadcasting service. Niklas Edin, from the Swedish team, remarked, “Absolutely not,” concerning Team Canada’s cheating claims. He explained that the media crew simply set up cameras to show viewers what transpired.
The Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS) clarified its role, stating that it did not produce the controversial video showing a Canadian curler seemingly committing a double touch. They noted that accredited media holders could film inside Olympic venues with the appropriate permissions.
The tensions escalated during the match when both Kennedy and Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused each other of rule violations. Kennedy denied the accusations vehemently, which led to a heated exchange between the two.
Interestingly, other teams, like the Swiss curlers, have voiced similar suspicions about Canada, with one curler reporting a double touch incident during a match.
The drama continued into the women’s competition, with Canadian curler Rachel Homan facing her own controversy when a stone she had thrown was removed after officials concluded she had touched it again. Homan protested, but the referee’s ruling remained unchanged, following World Curling rules.
World Curling addressed the situation, highlighting that match officials might not be able to witness every delivery violation. However, they reassured that during monitoring the previous night, no infractions were recorded.
The organization also discussed existing concerns regarding double touching and player contact with stones during play. It’s emphasized that manipulating the handle is allowed up to a point, but certain touches after the hog line lead to penalties.
As a precautionary measure, World Curling announced that officials would be assigned to keep a closer eye on all deliveries in upcoming matches following the ongoing allegations.
