Latest Curling Cheating Scandal at The Winter Olympics

At the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, a major controversy has developed in the Olympic curling tournament over alleged rule violations, especially involving the Canadian teams, but officials are treating it as a sporting dispute over infractions, not confirmed widespread cheating.

The row began when Sweden’s curling team accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of “double-touching” the stone — meaning touching it again after release, which is against the rules. That accusation came during a men’s round-robin game that Canada won 8-6. The exchange on the ice grew heated, with Kennedy denying any intentional wrongdoing and an on-ice argument breaking out.

World Curling officials responded by warning Canada about inappropriate language used during the dispute and adjusting the officiating protocol mid-tournament. They said further misconduct could lead to sanctions, but they have not suspended teams or ruled that outright “cheating” has occurred.

The controversy spread when the Canadian women’s skip Rachel Homan was accused of the same “double-touch” issue against Switzerland, leading to the removal of a stone in that match. Both Canadian teams have strongly rejected allegations of intentional rule-breaking.

Officials also clarified that curling does not use video replay to decide infractions, and game-time decisions by umpires are final. After feedback from team representatives, umpiring has shifted to a system where officials monitor deliveries only upon request for a minimum number of ends.

Other teams, including Britain, became involved under the heightened scrutiny, and the issue sparked debate within the curling community about rules enforcement and how infractions are spotted.

At this stage there is no formal finding that any team deliberately cheated under Olympic anti-cheating rules, and officials have not opened an investigation into intent. The disputes have been framed largely as rules interpretation and enforcement questions, rather than confirmed cases of deliberate cheating.

We’ll update with official rulings or sanctions if those are announced.