Canada faces renewed curling cheating allegations from Swiss team

Canada has faced new accusations of cheating after a member of the Swiss men’s curling team raised concerns about double contact during their round-robin match on Saturday.

The allegations came shortly after World Curling made adjustments to its officiating following initial complaints against Canadian Marc Kennedy.

Switzerland became the only undefeated team at Milan Cortina after beating Canada 9-5 for its fourth straight victory, but the victory was not without controversy.

Ben Hebert, Brett Gallant and Marc Kennedy of Canada compete in a men’s curling match against Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 14, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Swiss curler Pablo Lachat-Couchepin was filmed on a broadcast talking to his coach during a break in the fifth end during which he mentioned witnessing double hits.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

“I don’t want to focus too much on it, but he hit it twice and the ref saw it,” Lachat-Couchepin said, according to the Toronto Star. It is unclear whether these concerns were raised with officials.

The controversy even bled over to the women’s side on Saturday.

Canadian curler Rachel Homan had her stone removed after an official ruled she hit it again after releasing the handle. Homan protested, but under World Curling rules there is no official replay and the official’s final decision stands.

According to The Athletic, video replay of the incident showed Homan’s finger brushing the rock.

Rachel Homan of Canada during the women’s curling preliminary round against Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Chbaïr)

The new accusations came after World Curling released a statement addressing the claims first made by Sweden on Friday and Kennedy’s subsequent reaction, which was captured during the live broadcast.

WORLD CURLING FINDS NO VIOLATIONS AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF CHEATING ROCK CANADA-SWEDEN CURLING MATCH

“The game umpires are located at the end of each sheet and cannot physically see each delivery infraction. However, when informed of delivery issues, the game umpires are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends. During this observation period during Friday night’s game, no infractions were recorded,” the release said.

The sport’s governing body also addressed two rules concerns, including “double contact” and contact with granite. According to the rules, players can touch the handle multiple times, but “touching the handle past the hog line is not permitted and will result in the stone being removed from play.”

Additionally, the stone will be removed from play if the stone’s granite is hit during “forward movement”.

Following the allegations, World Curling said two officials would be able to observe all deliveries from Saturday’s matches.

Brad Jacobs and Marc Kennedy of Canada in action during the men’s curling preliminary round against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Kennedy vehemently denied accusations made by Swede Oskar Eriksson at the time, saying: “Who does this? I haven’t done it once. You can fuck off.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Canada received a verbal warning for Kennedy’s language, for which it apologized on Saturday, but its apologies stopped there.

“I probably could have behaved better at the time,” he told CBC. “I know I’m a role model for Canadian curlers, so if I apologize, it’s to young curlers across the country who would have expected more from me at that time.”

Kennedy said he was defending himself and his team when their integrity was criticized and later accused Sweden of being in the wrong, saying he believed it was “premeditated planning to try to get us.”

“They came up with a plan to catch the teams in the act,” Kennedy said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage onand subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.