Making it clear where he stands, Canadian Olympian Marc Kennedy told his opponent, Oskar Eriksson of Team Sweden, to “f— off,” after being accused of cheating.
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According to TMZ, the Curling athletes got into a heated argument on Friday. Erikkson claimed that Kennedy had touched the rock after initially releasing it, thus violating the rules.
Responding to the accusations, Kennedy told Erikkson, “I haven’t done it once. You can f— off.”
Erikkson continued his dig at Kennedy, stating he had a receipt that he could show after the match. The remark led Kennedy to lose his cool once again.
Following Canada’s 8-6 victory over Sweden, Kennedy explained to reporters he went off on Erikkson because he didn’t like being accused of cheating after 25 years and four Olympic Games.
“I told him where to stick it,” Kennedy stated.
During his four Olympic Games appearances, Kennedy has won two medals. Eriksson has four medals, including gold, from the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Team Canada Issues Statement Following Olympian Confrontation
Following the heated moment between Kennedy and Erikksson, Team Canada issued a statement about the situation.
In the statement, Team Canada addressed the cheating allegations.
“During the game, officials were called to the field of play and closely monitored for any release rule infractions,” the statement reads. “Including those involving touching the granite following a complaint by Team Sweden. After three ends of careful observation, no hogline violations or stone retouches were found by the officials.”
Team Canada acknowledged that the men’s team received a verbal warning for language used during the game, which it is aware of, and that it was “supportive.”
“We want to reaffirm that Curling Canada fully supports fair play, respect, and sportsmanship, values that are fundamental to our sport,” the statement continued. “We appreciate the support and enthusiasm of curling fans everywhere, and we look forward to continuing to cheer on and support our Canadian teams in Cortina on their journey.”
World Curling also issued a statement about Team Sweden’s allegations against Team Canada.
“Game Umpires are situated at the end of each sheet and physically cannot see every delivery infraction,” the statement revealed. “However, when they are made aware of delivery issues, game umpires are positioned to observe the delivery for three ends. During this period of observation in the Friday evening game, there were no violations recorded.”
In response to the allegations, World Curling announced that two officials will move between all four sheets and observe deliveries.