Canadian Olympian Marc Kennedy found himself in a heated exchange with a reporter shortly after he bluntly told a competitor to “f*** off” following accusations of cheating that have sent shockwaves through the typically serene curling community.
In his fourth Winter Olympics appearance, Kennedy and his Canadian team were cautioned by World Curling on Saturday morning. The warning came after Kennedy reacted strongly to cheating accusations from Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson.
Eriksson accused the 44-year-old Kennedy of “double touching,” which involves touching the curling stone again after its initial release on the ice. Although television replays suggested why Eriksson might have suspected foul play, referees confirmed that Kennedy had not violated any rules during Canada’s 8-6 victory.
Amidst his intense outburst, captured on SVT’s broadcast, Kennedy shouted across the ice at Eriksson, “I haven’t done it once. You can f*** off.”
To this, Eriksson replied, “I’ll show you a video after the game. I’ll show you a video where it’s two meters over the hog line.”
Unfazed, Kennedy retorted, “Come on, Oskar. Just f*** off,” and didn’t let the matter rest there.
The Winter Olympics curling match between Canada and Sweden became heated on Friday
Marc Kennedy (left) and Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson came to blows amid a cheating feud
Kennedy, 44, even clashed with a reporter after the drama on the ice at the Games in Italy
According to the National Post, Kennedy also took issue on 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.’
He even said that the clash could be good for the sport, adding: ‘I’ve got friends from back home who aren’t huge curling fans, they’re like, ‘what’s going on?’
‘I’ve got my daughter texting me “Marc’s getting spicy out there!” It shines a little extra light on the sport. Sometimes that’s not a bad thing.
But given World Curling warned Canada and Kennedy, it’s safe to say the governing body didn’t quite agree.
For his part, Eriksson told reporters afterwards that he remained sure that Kennedy had been double touching.
‘We want a game that is as sportsmanlike, honest and clean as possible,’ Eriksson said.
It was Swedish star Eriksson who led the accusations against Canada and Kennedy
Kennedy’s Canada team received a warning for swearing but the referees did not find any conclusive evidence to rule that they had cheated against Sweden
As for Kennedy swearing at him, Eriksson added: ‘That’s on him. I said what we’d told the umpires because we thought some of them were touching the stone, on or after the hogline, and that’s not allowed.’
On Saturday, World Curling said it spoke to Canadian team officials after the match and issued a verbal warning because of the language used by Kennedy.
World Curling said ‘further inappropriate behavior… would result in additional sanctions,’ including possible suspension.
The rules state that a stone must be delivered using the handle that sits on top of the rock and that it must be released from the hand before it reaches the hog line. At the Olympics, that is the thick green line at each end.
In the early ends of the match, Sweden notified the officials of their complaints.
An official then remained at the hog line for three ends to monitor Canada´s curlers and no violations were recorded, World Curling confirmed in its statement on Saturday.
