Accusations of cheating. Swear words being hurled across the ice. Counter-claims of a sting operation with illicit filming. In curling?!
The drama started when Canada’s Marc Kennedy became involved in a heated verbal exchange with Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson towards the end of his side’s 8-6 win.
The Swedes believed Kennedy was repeatedly double-touching some of his stones, an illegal move.
But the cards were signed by both teams at the end, meaning the result would stand in a sport that is proudly self-governed by the players.
And then video footage found its way into circulation post-match. Was it premeditated?
The following day, Switzerland reported Kennedy for the same offence. World Curling then announced they would deploy extra officials for the remainder of the Games to check for double-touching.
Canadian women’s skip Rachel Holman was pinged for a double-touch, as was Team GB’s Bobby Lammie – both incidents not deliberate and the case of a lingering figure falling on to the granite.
World Curling changed its protocol again and teams could now request to have the stone delivery monitored if they had suspicions, and for a minimum of three ends.
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