Marc Kennedy is the focus. © APA/afp / TIZIANA FABI

"Piss off": Curling row at the Olympics

A heated argument erupted on the ice: The men's curling teams from Canada and Sweden clashed verbally at the Olympic curling tournament over an alleged instance of cheating. The dispute centered on the index finger of Canadian Marc Kennedy.

February 14, 2026

From: dpa

After some minor banter at the start of the game, things got heated in the final stages. "Is it okay to touch the stone after the hog line? I don't know," said Swede Oskar Eriksson ironically after his Canadian opponent Marc Kennedy's turn, accusing him of an illegal multiple touch of the stone. "Who does that? Who? I didn't do that even once. Fuck off," Kennedy snapped back, visibly annoyed. "I'll show you a video after the game," Eriksson replied coolly.

The Swede said Kennedy had touched the stone with his finger beyond the green hog line – the point at which the stone should be released. Normally, in curling, electronic handles light up red when this happens. "And he still keeps accusing us of cheating. I didn't like that, so I told him where he can shove it," Kennedy said. However, the sensor is attached to the handle and doesn't trigger when the stone itself is touched. This is what Eriksson accused him of.

Major debate on social media

On the platform X The incident sparked heated debate among fans, with some even citing their own supposed video evidence to prove cheating. Others defended the Canadian, arguing that he may have touched the stone, but released it before crossing the green line. The TV footage was not conclusive.

Tensions ran high between Sweden and Canada. © APA/afp / TIZIANA FABI

“We’re all really good friends, we’ve known them for 20 years,” said Sweden’s captain Niklas Edin after the game, which the Canadians won 8-6. “So it’s just sad that it led to such heated discussions on the ice instead of just playing curling.”

Following the incident, the International Curling Federation issued a verbal warning to the Canadian player regarding his choice of words. A statement indicated that in discussions with Canadian officials, it was made clear that further inappropriate behavior would result in additional sanctions.