The tense moment took place during the men’s curling event at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Italy on Friday, Feb. 13
Escher Walcott is a Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE, covering stories in Entertainment, Style, Human Interest. She joins having written for several popular news publications, including Glamour, Refinery29, NYLON and Evening Standard, discussing the latest fashion trends, pop culture news, and pressing social matters.
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Oskar Eriksson of Team Sweden ; Marc Kennedy of Team Canada.Credit : Julian Finney/Getty; Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty
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Marc Kennedy of Team Canada and Oskar Eriksson of Team Sweden got into a shouting match during the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday, Feb. 13
Eriksson accused Kennedy of touching his stone twice before releasing it during the men’s curling event
Sweden lost 8-6 against Canada in the competition at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium
Canada and Sweden got into a heated exchange during the men’s curling event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Swedish player Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of cheating as they competed against each other at the Olympic Games in Milan on Friday, Feb. 13, NBC News and the U.K. outlet Metro reported. Sweden lost 8-6 to Canada in the game.
Eriksson, 34, claimed that Kennedy, 44, touched his stone twice before releasing it, which he furiously denied, leading to a shouting match between the pair over the alleged rule break at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
“Apparently, it’s alright touching the rock after the hogline,” Erikkson said to Kennedy, after complaining to officials, per the Metro.
“Who?” Kennedy responded. “It’s a couple,” replied Eriksson.
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Oskar Eriksson of Team Sweden. Jonas Ekströmer/TT/Shutterstock
Kennedy insisted, “I haven’t done it once,” adding to Eriksson, “You can f–k off.” Eriksson then said, “…Okay, I’ll show you a video after the game.”
“How about you walking around my peel and dancing around the house? How about that? C’mon Oskar, just f–k off,” repeated Kennedy. “…I don’t give a s–t. They were standing here and didn’t call it.”
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Curlers must release their stone before it reaches the “hogline,” marked by a thick green line on the ice. If they do not, a red sensor flashes, indicating the fault.
Kennedy was accused of giving his stone another shove with his finger after releasing it, per NBC News.
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Ben Herbert, Marc Kennedy and Brett Gallant of Team Canada.Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty
World Curling communications chief Chris Hamilton confirmed in a statement obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that no violations were committed during the match.
“The issue of second touches of the stone, specifically the granite, during the delivery was brought to the umpire’s attention,” the statement read. “Officials spoke with both teams and set game umpires at the hogline to monitor deliveries for three ends, which is the official protocol following this type of complaint. There were no hogline violations or retouches of the stone during the observation period.”
Kennedy said after the game, “I don’t like being accused of cheating after 25 years on tour and four Olympic Games,” per NBC News.
Speaking of his argument with Eriksson, he said, “He’s still accusing us of cheating, and I didn’t like it. So I told him where to stick it, because we’re the wrong team to do that to. So I don’t care. He might have been upset that he was losing.”
PEOPLE has contacted the Swedish and Canadian national curling teams for comment.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
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