CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Canadian curler Marc Kennedy said Saturday he regrets the profanity he directed at Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson after being accused of cheating during the men’s round-robin at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. In a Reuters report, Marc Kennedy rejected the allegations as World Curling said it will deploy roaming officials to monitor stone deliveries after Sweden complained of an alleged illegal “double touch,” Feb. 14, 2026.
Marc Kennedy says he has “nothing to apologize for” after Sweden’s cheating claim
The flare-up began late Friday in Canada’s 8-6 round-robin win over Sweden. Sweden’s Eriksson confronted Marc Kennedy near the end of the game, accusing the Canadian third of touching the rock again after release — a violation that can lead to a stone being removed from play.
Kennedy said he “probably could have handled it better” but rejected the idea that he was trying to gain an advantage. “I’m not going to apologize for defending my teammates and standing up for myself,” Marc Kennedy told reporters.
Eriksson said Sweden raised the issue because it wants consistent enforcement. “We want to play a fair-and-square game, like you follow the rules,” he said. “And if we see something that’s not following the rules, we tell the opponents or the official.”
Footage filmed from the stands and circulated online appeared to show Marc Kennedy’s hand contacting the granite after release as the stone crossed the hog line, the thick line by which a delivery must be completed. The Associated Press report noted that game officials monitored deliveries for several ends after Sweden complained early and did not record a violation during that observation window.
Kennedy said he had not studied the replay and indicated Canada would adjust if officials believe a tweak is needed. “We’ll make sure it’s not happening and we’ll go from there,” Marc Kennedy said.
World Curling steps up oversight, clarifies what is and isn’t legal
World Curling responded with a public rules reminder that also explained why the issue can be difficult to police in real time. In its rules clarification statement, the governing body said it does not use video replay “to re-umpire game decisions” and that “decisions made during a game are final.”
In the statement, World Curling said game umpires are stationed at the end of each sheet and “physically cannot see every delivery infraction,” but can shift their position to observe throws after teams raise concerns.
The statement also drew a bright line around the specific behavior at the center of the dispute: “During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play.” World Curling added that players may retouch the handle before the hog line, but touching the handle after the hog line is illegal and can also lead to removal.
Those nuances matter because the Games are using electronic handles that can detect certain hog line violations. Reuters reported that the sensor is in the handle, while Sweden alleged the contact was with the granite, not the electronics, which would leave no red-light signal for officials to see. In response, Reuters reported on World Curling’s new monitoring plan that begins with the Saturday afternoon session: two roaming officials will move between all four sheets to observe deliveries.
World Curling also said it issued a verbal warning to Canadian officials about the language used during the Sweden game, adding that further inappropriate behavior could result in sanctions.
Cheating accusations spread beyond Marc Kennedy as Canada’s women lose a stone
The controversy did not stay contained to one men’s match. In Canada’s women’s round-robin game against Switzerland, an official ruled that Canadian skip Rachel Homan double-touched on her first delivery and ordered the stone removed — a decision that came a day after the dispute involving Marc Kennedy.
Homan called the call “insane” and said, “I don’t understand the call. I’ll never understand it. We’ve never done that,” after Canada lost 8-7 in an extra end, according to a separate Reuters report. Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni said she did not see the alleged violation but removed the rock because it was an umpire’s decision.
The widening debate means officials are now watching deliveries more closely across the tournament — not just in games that involve Marc Kennedy.
From Broomgate to sensor malfunctions, curling’s “fair play” debates have history
Curling’s reputation as a sport built on self-policing and etiquette has been challenged before — often when technology or equipment changes faster than the rulebook can keep pace. In 2015, the World Curling Federation imposed a temporary ban on certain “directional” broom fabrics after players argued the new gear threatened competitive integrity, as detailed in a Washington Post report.
A year later, NPR chronicled the sport’s scramble to standardize sweeping equipment after “Broomgate.” (That explainer is republished by public radio station WABE in NPR’s 2016 look back.)
Olympic disputes tied to the hog line are also not new. At the 2018 Games, a late red-light ruling and the lack of video review drew scrutiny after a crucial stone was removed in a Britain-Sweden match, as described in Reuters’ report from Pyeongchang.
And at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, electronic handle problems were so disruptive that officials disconnected the system and reverted to manual hog line judging — a shift that ABC News said pushed curling back toward an honor system.
World Curling’s response in Cortina — clearer language, more eyes on the hog line and a warning about conduct — is the latest example of the sport tightening the seams when integrity questions spill into public view. Marc Kennedy said Canada will adjust under the added scrutiny, while Sweden said it will continue to alert officials when it believes rules are being broken.
