Staff GB face a Canada facet which were embroiled in a dishonest scandal on the Winter Olympics.
Canada have been hit by accusations on the Winter Olympics. (Picture: Getty)
Canada’s males’s and girls’s groups, and Staff GB’s Bobby Lammie, have been accused of “double-touching” the stone after launch on the Winter Olympics. This banned motion entails making secondary contact with the granite to probably alter its course. These dishonest allegations have overshadowed the game’s conventional “spirit of curling” and its fame for integrity and sportsmanship.
Tensions erupted throughout a match between Canada and Sweden when Oskar Eriksson accused Marc Kennedy of a violation. Kennedy responded with a foul-mouthed outburst, telling his rival to “f*** off.” Whereas Kennedy escaped punishment for the alleged contact, he acquired an official warning from World Curling for his “inappropriate language” in the course of the spat.
Regardless of the Canadians’ agency denials, Swedish broadcaster SVT launched footage showing to indicate Kennedy touching the stone twice. Later, a photographer was dispatched to seize photographs of Canada’s Brad Jacobs allegedly committing the identical infraction. Social media clips of Rachel Homan additionally went viral, prompting an umpire to take away certainly one of her stones.
Marc Kennedy hit again on the accusations, suggesting the controversy was a premeditated plan by rivals to disrupt Canada’s efficiency. He claimed groups had used cameras to focus on them particularly, stating that the “spirit of curling is lifeless” as a result of opponents at the moment are actively searching for infractions somewhat than trusting each other.
The controversy centres on “hog line” guidelines, the place gamers should launch the stone deal with earlier than the road. Whereas touching the deal with is allowed early on, touching the granite stone throughout ahead movement is strictly forbidden. The digital sensors within the handles solely detect hand placement, not unintended finger brushes on the rock itself.
Following the uproar, World Curling initially elevated on-ice officiating to observe deliveries intently. Nevertheless, they quickly made a rule change U-turn after groups complained. Umpires now solely monitor deliveries on the particular request of a competing group for at least three ends, somewhat than fixed surveillance.
Regardless of the extreme scrutiny and the cheat storm, Canada’s males’s group reached the gold medal last in opposition to Staff GB. Whereas the drama has divided the curling neighborhood, specialists argue that incidental “double-touching” hardly ever gives a aggressive benefit and is commonly only a results of muscle reminiscence or method.
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