"With Canada 7-6 ahead after the penultimate end, Sweden's Oskar Eriksson then told Marc Kennedy he was double-touching the stone, which led to the Canadian responding with an expletive. Asked about the exchange afterwards, Kennedy said: It's sport. It's the Olympics. Both teams are trying to win. Oskar was accusing us of cheating. I didn't like it. I've been curling professionally for 25 years."
"The Curling Canada chief, Nolan Thiessen, said it was a poor choice of words from Kennedy. I think heat of the moment, I would allow for as well, Thiessen said. Something was said in his ear which got him going. Head games get played in a lot of sports and things get said in competitive sport and I think this was one of those situations. Do I wish Mark didn't drop an F-bomb? Yeah."
"World Curling has introduced electronic handles on the stones at these Games, which flash red if players are still making contact with the stone beyond the hog line, the point where curlers must let go of the stone during delivery. However, the Swedes believed that Kennedy was touching the stone and not the handle containing the sensor, meaning the red lights did not flash. Replays appeared to back Eriksson up, but the officials did not intervene."
Canada won 8-6 against Sweden in a tense Olympic curling match that featured accusations of illegal contact with the stone after release. Sweden's Oskar Eriksson accused Marc Kennedy of double-touching the rock, prompting Kennedy to respond with an expletive. Electronic handles flash red if players still contact the stone beyond the hog line, but the Swedes said Kennedy touched the stone rather than the handle, so lights did not flash and officials did not intervene despite replays appearing to support Sweden's claim. World Curling warned the Canadians about abusive language and introduced emergency spot checks. Curling Canada called Kennedy's language a poor choice amid heat of competition.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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