CORTINA D'AMPEZZO - Both sides in the Canada-Sweden curling melodrama held firm to their beliefs Saturday at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. It was a story so engulfing that it essentially left Brad Jacobs' first defeat of the Winter Games lost in the shuffle.
Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller defeated Canada 9-5 in a clinical victory over a Calgary-based side that may have been distracted by the tumult from a night earlier.
The vice-skips at the heart of the tension - Canada's Marc Kennedy and Sweden's Oskar Eriksson - stuck to their guns a day after an on-ice discussion about 'double-touching' curling stones evolved into a profanity-laced interaction that generated international headlines."I don't regret defending myself or my teammates in that moment," Kennedy said. "I just probably regret the language I used." Story continues below advertisement Late in the Canada-Sweden game, Eriksson - the third for skip Niklas Edin - told Kennedy he thought the Canadian players had occasionally touched the granite on the stone after the rock handle was released.
Kennedy bristled at the suggestion that there was deliberate cheating and let Eriksson know it, adding a couple of F-bombs for good measure."I've played this game a really long time, and I can't think of once in my entire career where I've done something to gain a competitive advantage by cheating, and I take that very seriously," Kennedy said. "And it's been a really long career. Related Videos 2:48 'You have to be confident': Canada's Grondin speaks silver medal win in Men's Snowboard Cross 'You have to be confident': Canada's Grondin speaks silver medal win in Men's Snowboard Cross Canadian skier Kingsbury 'very happy' with silver medal win in Olympic Men's Moguls Canada wins silver in short-track speedskating mixed team relay Winter Olympics 2026: Canada's Megan Oldham wins bronze in women's freeski slopestyle Team USA Olympians, protesters speak out against ICE presence in Milan What to expect from the Milano-Cortina Olympics Canadian Olympic snowboarder, medal hopeful Mark McMorris suffers 'heavy crash' in training Mikaël Kingsbury, Marielle Thompson named Canada's flag-bearers for Milano-Cortina Olympics Milan Olympics: U.S. ICE agents' presence sparks uproar in Italy Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir look ahead to Milano Cortina 2026 Previous Video Next Video "So when you get called out, my instinct was to be a little bit of a bulldog and come after Oskar for it. That's human nature for me." Story continues below advertisement The incident kick-started an online wave of accusations, fuelled in part by a viral video that appeared to show Kennedy's finger grazing the granite, which would be a rule violation. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. The source of the video - apparently filmed a few rows above ice level near the hog line - wasn't immediately clear."I was surprised that there was a live video on the hog line outside of OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Service) rules," said Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen. "That seems odd to me." More on Sports More videos Curling drama gets international attention Fugitive caught at Olympics after being on the run for 16 years Canada reaches Olympic women's hockey semifinals Here's the latest on Day 8 of the Olympics Canada's men's hockey team beats Switzerland 5-1 as women prepare for quarterfinal Dubai hosts 2026 UAE SWAT Challenge Oshawa Generals apologize after asking smelly fans to shower before games Team Canada FanFest at WInsport is set for this weekend bringing fans together to cheer for our Olympic athletes Canada team coach Paul Webster went one step further. He said there were Swedish support staff, fans and team officials in position there during the game."They were there ready at the hog line video recording," he said.
Kennedy added he felt the Swedes had "come up with a plan" to try to catch violations at that location."It was planned right from the word go yesterday," he said. "From the words that were being said by their coaches and the way they were running to the officials. It was kind of evident that something was going on, and they were trying to catch us in an act." Trending Now B.C. school shooting victim tried to lock library door to save her classmates Father of Tumbler Ridge school shooter issues statement: 'I carry a sorrow' Edin was asked directly if the Swedish team made arrangements to have that part of the sheet recorded. Story continues below advertisement "Absolutely not," he said, adding the recording was from a "media crew" that wanted to explain to its viewers what was happening."It was Swedish media, the people covering the game that did," he said. "That's what we were told at least."In a statement, World Curling said its umpires monit