Canadian curler Marc Kennedy has claimed that he and his teammates were caught in a premeditated trap as their international rivals continue to accuse them of unsportsmanlike behavior amid the Winter Olympics cheating storm.
Kennedy became embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of the Milan-Cortina Games last Friday when Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson repeatedly accused him of double-touching his deliveries, sparking an explosive response from the Canadian.
The 44-year-old launched into a profanity-laden exchange with the Swede, furiously telling his opponent to ‘f*** off’ in a heated row on the sheet. He was later issued a verbal warning from World Curling for ‘inappropriate language.’
In the latest twist in the saga, Kennedy has argued that he was set up by the Swedish team, who he claimed had concocted a plan to catch him in the act.
‘They have come up with a plan here at the Olympics, as far as I know, to catch teams in the act at the hog line,’ Kennedy claimed following the incident over the weekend.
‘This was planned… it was kind of evident that something was going on, and they were trying to catch us in an act.’
Canadian curler Marc Kennedy claimed that he and his teammates were set up by Sweden
Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson (right) repeatedly accused his opponent Kennedy (left) of cheating
Kennedy and Canadian coach Paul Webster accused Sweden of installing cameras to catch them cheating.
‘I know we’re not the only team that they’ve done that to,’ Kennedy continued. ‘So I think this was, I don’t know what the word is for that, but like a premeditated plan to try to catch us.’
Sweden responded by claiming that they had been raising concerns about Canada’s alleged cheating for seven or eight years.
Furthermore, the Swedish media has piled more allegations on the scandal-hit Canadians, accusing them of intentionally throwing a match to determine a more favorable route to the gold medal final.
The Canadian men’s team had only lost one game heading into the final matchup of the group stage against Norway.
However, in a surprise result, the Canadians suffered an 8–6 defeat to Norway on Thursday morning, which in turn meant that they would face the Norwegians yet again in the semifinal.
If Norway had lost the final game of the round-robin, the USA would have progressed to the semifinals instead.
Kennedy releases a stone at the hog line – the point on the sheet where contact must cease
Kennedy has accused the Swedish team of setting up cameras to catch their rivals cheating
SVT’s curling commentary team Eva Lund and Niklas Nord suggested on-air that Canada wanted to lose the game in order to face the Norwegians in the semifinals.
‘We guessed it would be a bit of a dead rubber match and we can probably guess that it is. Canada wants Norway in a semi-final,’ Nord said on the Swedish broadcast.
‘It’s a bit too clear. I think some things are strange. But that’s how it is, it’s clear that you have to play tactically. That’s what they’re doing now,’ Lund agreed.
However, the pair insisted that Canada was not doing anything that could be considered outright cheating.
‘There is nothing wrong, even if you feel in your heart that they could have made an attempt,’ said Lund.
Canada will face Norway in the semifinal at 6:05pm GMT/1:05pm ET, while Great Britain will take on undefeated Switzerland in the other matchup for a spot in the gold medal game.
Meanwhile, the Italian media has joined the attack on the Canadians, accusing them of being ‘arrogant’ during their game against Italy on Wednesday.
Italy’s Joel Retornaz accidentally touched a stone while sweeping, which the Canadians, who had faced similar accusations, immediately picked up on.
The Canadian, 44, reacted furiously after being accused of double-touching on Friday
The Canadians accused Italian Joel Retornaz of touching a stone after its release
According to Corriere dello Sport, one of the Canadian curlers accused Retornaz of touching the stone and made a gesture with his finger.
In response, Retornaz reportedly owned up to the touch, which the Italian outlet declared to be a demonstration of ‘great fair play.’
Yet, the publication claimed that the same couldn’t be said for the Canadians and their outburst during the Swedish clash, adding that they showed a very arrogant attitude in their protest against Italy.
Kennedy, competing at his fourth Winter Olympics, and Canada received a warning from World Curling on Saturday morning after Kennedy took huge offense at being accused of cheating by Sweden’s Eriksson.
The Swede accused Kennedy of ‘double touching’ – essentially, touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice – during Canada’s 8-6 win on Friday.
Television replays showed why Eriksson might have thought something was up, but referees concluded that no rules had been broken by Kennedy.
‘I haven’t done it once,’ the Canadian shouted across the sheet at Eriksson, amid his furious outburst that was captured on the SVT broadcast. ‘You can f*** off.’
‘I’ll show you a video after the game,’ Eriksson responded. ‘I’ll show you a video where it’s two meters over the hog line.’
Kennedy (left) and Sweden’s Eriksson almost came to blows amid a cheating feud
‘Come on, Oskar. Just f*** off,’ Kennedy fired back. And he didn’t stop there.
According to the National Post, Kennedy also took issue with being questioned about swearing by a Swedish reporter after the drama on the ice had ended.
‘You’ve never seen two guys have a heated argument before?’ Kennedy reportedly said when asked if his language could have been more respectful.
‘Like, is this a personal conversation? I don’t need to defend myself to a news reporter. I don’t like being accused of cheating after 25 years on tour and four Olympic Games. I told him where to stick it.’
The double-touching storm has not been confined to the men’s game. It has crossed over into women’s curling, with Canada once again caught up in the controversy.
Canada’s Rachel Homan had her stone removed when an official ruled that she had touched it again after releasing the handle.
Homan’s offense occurred after World Curling directed two umpires to move between the four matches during each round to monitor play.
Meanwhile, Team GB were accused of an offense during the ninth end of their round-robin match against Germany on Sunday.
Bobby Lammie was accused of touching a stone after releasing it down the ice, with an umpire intervening.
The stone used by Lammie was removed from play, with the umpire instructing British skip Bruce Mouat to return a German stone to its previous position.