In Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, the Canadian curler embroiled in a deepening controversy at the Winter Olympics asserted on Saturday that he is not a cheat. He speculated that his team could be the target of a “premeditated” attack by Sweden, a major rival for the gold medal.
Marc Kennedy admitted he “probably could have managed it better” following his expletive-filled outburst aimed at Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson, who accused him of breaking rules by “double-touching”—essentially making contact with the rock again after initially releasing it—during Canada’s 8-6 victory in round-robin play on Friday.
but, the 44-year-old Kennedy asserted that he has never stepped onto the ice “with the intention of gaining an advantage through cheating.”
Online footage appeared to show Kennedy violating curling rules by touching the stone with his finger after he had released it. When asked about the video, Kennedy replied, “Yes, I’m not even going there. I’ve never even known that to be a concern before. It’s never come up before.”
“If someone asked you, ‘Do you double-touch all the time?’ I honestly, in that split second, couldn’t even tell you if I do or not,” he stated.
He also offered his own theory, suggesting the incident could have been part of “premeditated planning to try to catch us.”
“They’ve devised a plan to catch teams in the act,” Kennedy mentioned.
This controversy has shaken the usually calm world of curling, involving two teams that frequently compete against each other and feature some of the sport’s top players.
In a further twist on Saturday, the Canadian women’s team faced similar accusations of a double-touch violation, this time against veteran skip Rachel Homan in the first end against Switzerland. The Canadian curlers expressed disbelief and anger.
“Zero percent chance,” Homan declared before the match resumed.
Kennedy received a verbal warning from the governing body, World Curling, the day after his heated exchange with the Swedish team. He has not been formally charged with cheating, as World Curling does not review gameplay through video.
The organization decided to assign two officials to oversee how players released their stones during Saturday’s afternoon session in the men’s competition. In that session, Canada lost 9-5 to Switzerland, while Sweden triumphed over China 6-4.
Post-match, Eriksson commented that he “slept well, I’m not sure about him”—referring to Kennedy—and explained he brought up Kennedy’s alleged rule-breaking because he had observed it in the past. Eriksson added that he has informed officials in two previous events.
“We want to play a fair game, adhering to the rules,” Eriksson asserted. “If we see something that violates the rules, we inform the opponents or the official. This time we did both.”
The allegations continued to arise.
During their game against Canada, the Swiss men’s team alerted referees mid-match to their suspicion that a Canadian team member was once again double-tapping, according to Swiss coach Glenn Howard.
Howard, a Canadian and an acclaimed curler himself, expressed confusion over the entire situation.
“My whole career, you’d think, ‘Ah, that’s OK,’ if there was a minor infraction,” said Howard, reflecting on the latest incident.
In the early ends of Friday’s match, Sweden skip Niklas Edin informed officials of their concerns regarding Kennedy. An official was then stationed at the hog line—the thick green line before which curlers must release the stone—for three ends to monitor Canada’s players, and no violations were recorded, according to World Curling’s announcement on Saturday.
The footage that seemingly shows Kennedy double-tapping the stone has led some curling fans to question the origins of the video, noting that cameras are typically not set up at the hog line.
A staff member from Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported that the station had obtained the footage by relocating its camera to the hog line after Sweden raised concerns about the double-touch early in the match. The camera operator stayed in position to capture Kennedy’s pitch in the eighth end, which Eriksson claimed Swedish TV showcased.
