Curling beef ongoing months after Olympics; Canadian skip reportedly says Swedish team is 'nothing to me'

Canadian third Marc Kennedy was scrutinized for double-touching stones with his finger beyond the hog line and on the granite part of the rock in this year's Games. (Photo by Foto Olimpik/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images Curling has long been regarded as a gentleman’s sport. But in the Milan Cortina Olympics , its ice was the breeding ground for a fiery exchange that breathed life into an international rivalry that’s apparently still kicking two months later.

Back in February, Swedish third Oskar Eriksson levied a serious cheating allegation against Canadian third Marc Kennedy, whom Eriksson accused of double-touching stones with his finger beyond the hog line and on the granite part of the rock. Things boiled over after the ninth end of an 8-6 Canada victory in round-robin action of the men’s competition, which the Canadians eventually won gold in. Sweden’s 🇸🇪 Oskar Eriksson is right to call out Marc Kennedy here.

Not a good look for Kennedy #Olympics2026 #milanocortina2026 pic. twitter. com/IkiL4poRyN — RGF (@rgfray1) February 13, 2026 Kennedy snapped at Eriksson with a profanity-laced retort in a heated back-and-forth that went viral during this year’s Games.

What followed was a temporary adjustment by World Curling that called for two umpires to move between the sheets, cycling through to watch hog lines up close while monitoring for infractions. That led to complaints, as reported by the Associated Press at the time , and World Curling reportedly swiftly eased back on its play surveillance. Curling is a well-mannered sport, in which its participants are trusted to officiate themselves to a certain extent, with the spirit of the game in mind.