Canada’s curling squads at the Winter Olympics grapple with successive cheating allegations over the rare double-touch violation, where players reportedly contact the stone after release.
Women’s Team Penalized in Tight Loss
Officials removed skip Rachel Homan’s stone early in Canada’s women’s match against Switzerland after ruling she touched it again following her handle release. Teammate Emma Miskew immediately protested and sought a video replay review, but World Curling regulations confirm the on-ice official’s decision as final.
Switzerland claimed an 8-7 win. Homan rejected the call outright, declaring, “Like, absolutely not. Zero-per cent chance I don’t understand the call. I’ll never understand it. We’ve never done that. It has nothing to do with us.”
Miskew expressed confusion, noting, “It looked like a really good throw to us from the side, so I’m confused at that.”
Recent Men’s Clash Sets Stage
The women’s controversy echoes a fiery confrontation the previous day in the men’s event. During Canada’s 8-6 victory over Sweden, curler Marc Kennedy exchanged heated words—including telling opponent Oskar Eriksson to “f— off”—after accusations of the identical infraction.
Curling Canada’s Official Position
Following the men’s match, officials scrutinized play for three ends after Sweden’s complaint, detecting no hogline breaches or post-release touches. The Canadian men’s team received a verbal warning for on-ice language.
Curling Canada emphasized its commitment, stating, “We want to reaffirm that Curling Canada fully supports fair play, respect and sportsmanship, values that are fundamental to our sport.”
These incidents spotlight enforcement of curling’s release rules amid intense Olympic competition in Milan-Cortina.
