Olympic curling cheating drama continues as Team GB accused of same violation as Canada

We have more curling controversy in Cortina with Team GB being accused of the same violation as Canada.

There has been increased surveillance in place at the 2026 Olympic Games after Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of a 'double touch' last week (13 February) following Canada's 8-6 win.

The rule is you can't touch the curling stone once it's released past the hogline, otherwise it's considered double touching, which is not allowed.

Kennedy subsequently told his opponent to 'f**k off' following the accusation.

Increased surveillance meant that Team GB's men were punished during their win against Germany.

Officials ruled that Scottish curler Bobby Lammie double touched a stone after a slow motion video review.

Team GB went on to win the match 9-4.

What are the official double-touch curling rules?

The curling controversy at the Winter Olympics continues (Winter Olympics)

World Curling said that Rule R.5 states that '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. The curling stone must be delivered using the handle of the stone'.

"It is not possible for World Curling to have game umpires positioned to observe all hog lines for every stone delivery," the sporting body explained.

"However, beginning with the Saturday (14 February) afternoon session, two officials will move between all four sheets and observe deliveries.

There has been increased surveillance following Canada's curling controversy (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

"Following the Friday evening session, World Curling spoke with the Canadian officials to issue a verbal warning regarding the language used by a Canadian men’s player during the game.

"During that meeting it was made clear to those officials that further inappropriate behaviour, determined by rule R.19, would result in additional sanctions."

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."

They added: "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."