Team Canada curling faces new cheating allegation amid Winter Olympic chaos

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15 February 2026 at 23:47

Canada’s men’s curling team is in hot water again at the Milan Cortina Games. Two complaints in two days, and the double-touching controversy is not going away.

Switzerland raised the same concern during Saturday’s round-robin contest that Sweden had brought up just a day earlier. That first accusation got heated fast, with sharp words exchanged between players on the ice.

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Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson claimed Canadian third Marc Kennedy made illegal contact with the stone’s handle after it crossed the hog line, which would be a direct rule violation.

Canada still won 8-6, but no penalty was handed out. Kennedy did get a verbal warning, though it was for profanity, not the double-touch itself.

Then came Saturday’s match, where Switzerland beat Canada 9-5. Swiss curler Pablo Lachat-Couchepin was caught on camera telling his coach what he saw.

“I don’t want to focus too much on it, but he double-touched, and the referee saw it,” Lachat-Couchepin told his coach, per Toronto Star.

Marc Kennedy of Canada during a men’s curling round robin game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The curling drama isn’t just about Canada’s men

The scrutiny is not just on the men’s team either. Canada’s women’s squad got pulled into the same mess during their Saturday match against Switzerland.

Officials ruled that Canadian skip Rachel Homan committed a double-touch, making contact with the stone after releasing it. The umpire pulled the stone from play in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Rachel Homan of Canada, Emma Miskew of Canada and Sarah Wilkes of Canada during their match against Denmark in a women’s curling round robin match during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Issei Kato/Reuters via Imagn Images

Homan did not agree with the call, per The Washington Post, and said she didn’t think she broke the rule. After the loss, she told reporters the heat around the men’s team may have put extra eyes on her squad too.

Two teams, two controversies, one tournament. Canada’s got a real problem on its hands at these Games.