Canada issues statement after cheating accusation at Winter Olympics and Sweden told to 'f*** off'

Curling Canada has released a statement after its men's team were accused of cheating at the Winter Olympics in an incident where one of their members told a Swedish opponent to 'f**k off'.

It's been a marvellous Winter Olympics for the messy b*****s who live for the drama, what with athletes being disqualified for slathering their equipment with banned substances, some 'dark allegations' hanging over a French duo, that guy who announced he'd been cheating on his girlfriend and the biathlete who stole one of her teammate's credit card details.

It's hard to escape the drama during the events either, as the men's curling preliminaries between Canada and Sweden became mired in controversy over allegations of cheating directed at the Canadian team.

A couple of days ago (13 February), during their match, which Canada won 8-6, Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of a 'double touch'.

As far as the rules are concerned, a double touch of the curling stone before the hog line (where you're supposed to let go of the stone) is not a violation, but it is if that touch occurs on the line.

Kennedy's opponents thought they saw him push the curling stone with his finger after he'd released the handle, and the accusation of cheating led the Canadian to tell his opponent to 'f**k off'.

"I haven't done it once. You can f**k off," he said.

What has Canada Curling said?

The organisation said: "Yesterday’s men’s curling match between Team Canada and Team Sweden in Cortina was highly competitive, showcasing the passion and commitment of both teams.

"During the game, officials were called to the field of play and closely monitored for any release rule infractions, including those involving touching the granite following a complaint by Team Sweden. After three ends of careful observation, no hogline violations or stone retouches were found by the officials.

"World Curling’s statement on the matter can be found here.

"The Canadian men’s team also received a verbal warning for language used during the game which we are aware of and supportive.

"We want to reaffirm that Curling Canada fully supports fair play, respect and sportsmanship, values that are fundamental to our sport.

"We appreciate the support and enthusiasm of curling fans everywhere, and we look forward to continuing to cheer on and support our Canadian teams in Cortina on their journey."

An update from World Curling

World Curling had clarified 'several issues' about the incident, including what is and isn't allowed when releasing a stone.

"A double touch of the stone handle before the hog line at the delivery end is allowed," World Curling listed.

"A re-touch of the stone handle after the hog line at the delivery end is not allowed and detected by the new handles.

"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."

Meanwhile, in a statement, Swedish team leader Fredrik Lindberg said the ‘Swedish Olympic Committee will not seek an investigation regarding the events’ of the game.