Former Olympic curling champion Jennifer Jones has leapt to the defense of the current Canadian team, insisting she does not believe her compatriots are cheating.
At a highly-charged Winter Games in Italy, Team Canada has been engulfed in controversy and even foul-mouthed clashes with rivals on the ice.
Last week, Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson repeatedly accused his Canadian opponent Marc Kennedy of cheating by double-touching the stones.
In curling, a double touch by the person delivering the stone, prior to the hog line where the stone must be released, is not considered a violation. However, if a touch occurs inside the hog line, then it incurs an infraction.
Kennedy did not take too kindly to the allegations and angrily confronted his rival.
‘I haven’t done it once,’ the Canadian shouted in a furious outburst that was captured on the SVT broadcast. ‘You can f*** off.’
The Winter Olympics curling match between Canada and Sweden became heated on Friday
Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson (right) accused his opponent Marc Kennedy (left) of cheating
Team Canada was later branded ‘cheats’ by a Swedish newspaper which even sent a photographer to try and prove its case. ‘I can guarantee that there is not a single double touch out there that is done intentionally to cheat,’ Kennedy later told Swedish outlet Aftonbladet.
World Curling said in a statement that it reviewed the match and found no missed violations.
The double-touching storm has also impacted the women’s curling competition – Canada’s Rachel Homan had her stone removed when an official ruled that she had touched it again after releasing the handle.
And now Jones has weighed in on the scandal. She led Canada to gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and she told CBC she ‘does not believe’ anyone – male or female – has knowingly done anything wrong.
‘I don’t think there is any malice in what’s happening here – I do believe it was just that tense altercation that’s really made the Canadian team front and center,’ she said.
‘I think it’s maybe a part of a habit in their delivery and honestly, with the camera angles, it is very difficult to see for certain if there was a violation.
‘But any of the players who have had a rock pulled, I don’t think they’re doing it intentionally – to give the rock extra speed or alter its course – it’s just part of their delivery and the habit they have. It’s a hard one to break.’
Amid the controversy, Kennedy’s wife has been the target of harassment on social media. Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen called it ‘c***.’ He told CBC: ‘These guys are human beings, and their families need to be left out of it.’
Aftonbladet even sent a photographer to try and capture images of Canada double-touching in their match against Czechia.
‘There is not a single double touch out there that is done intentionally to cheat,’ Kennedy said
Eriksson, pictured in action during Friday’s round-robin match, repeatedly complained
On Monday night, Aftonbladet published images from their photographer Pontus Orre which appear to show Canada’s captain Brad Jacobs touching the granite during forward motion.
Canada beat Czechia 8-2 and Aftonbladet later confronted Kennedy about the controversy. ‘I can guarantee that there is not a single double touch out there that is done intentionally to cheat. That’s all I can say,’ he said.
‘I have 50 videos of people who … I’ll go … But it’s okay, we’ve talked about this so much already. It’s a shame it came up during the Olympics. We’ve all had to deal with it now.
‘But all the teams have the right to call a referee now, so if the Czech Republic were not happy with something, they were more than welcome to call a referee and we could do the same. That’s how it should work.
‘This game of trying to catch people red-handed, and all to win a medal, sucks. Unfortunately. But it is what it is, the sport is developing and those in charge really need to take a good look at this.
‘It’s hard for me to use the word gentleman after this week. But we love the idea of self-government without the need for judges. That’s where I think curling is in a bad place right now and I think that comes from a thirst for medals.’
Asked if he is worried about curling’s reputation, Kennedy replied: ‘Yes, maybe. I haven’t thought about it that much, but there are probably some relationships that have been damaged by all this. Yes.
‘There are so many games in a year where you can’t have referees at the level we have here. So if we don’t have any of the soul of curling left, we’re in trouble. I don’t have the answers, but it will be interesting to see.’
Team GB has also been dragged into the storm after curler Bobby Lammie grazed the stone with his finger after releasing.
