Canadian curler Marc Kennedy has spoken out, asserting that he and his team were deliberately ensnared by their international adversaries amid ongoing accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct during the Winter Olympics. Kennedy found himself at the center of a major controversy at the Milan-Cortina Games last Friday when Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson accused him of double-touching his curling stones, prompting a fiery reaction from the Canadian. In a heated exchange, the 44-year-old hurled profanities at Eriksson, telling him to ‘[expletive] off’ on the ice. As a result, Kennedy received a verbal reprimand from World Curling for his inappropriate language. In a dramatic turn, Kennedy has alleged that the Swedish team orchestrated a scheme to catch him in wrongdoing.

“They’ve devised a plan here at the Olympics, as far as I’m aware, to catch teams at the hog line,” Kennedy claimed following the weekend incident. “This was premeditated… it was evident that something was up, and they were trying to catch us in the act.” Supporting Kennedy’s claims, Canadian coach Paul Webster accused Sweden of setting up cameras to document cheating. “I know we’re not the only team they’ve targeted,” Kennedy added. “So, I believe this was a calculated attempt to trap us.” In response, Sweden asserted they had raised concerns about Canada’s alleged cheating for several years. Swedish media further intensified the scandal, alleging that the Canadians intentionally lost a match to secure a more advantageous path to the gold medal final.

Heading into the final matchup of the group stage against Norway, the Canadian men’s team had only one loss. Yet, unexpectedly, they fell 8-6 to Norway on Thursday morning, resulting in a semifinal rematch against the Norwegians. Had Norway been defeated in the final round-robin game, the USA would have advanced to the semifinals instead. SVT’s curling commentators Eva Lund and Niklas Nord speculated that Canada deliberately lost to face Norway in the semifinals. “We anticipated a dead rubber match, and it seems Canada preferred Norway as their semifinal opponent,” Nord remarked on Swedish television. “It’s quite evident, and while some aspects seem odd, it’s clear they’re playing strategically,” Lund concurred.

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. 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 [expletive] 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.’ ‘Come on, Oskar. Just [expletive] 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.