WATCH: Canadian curling team accused of cheating in Winter Olympics scandal

Tensions are rising in Olympic curling after members of the Canadian men’s and women’s teams were accused of committing a rules violation known as “double touching”. Canadian men’s curler Marc Kennedy strongly denied any wrongdoing after Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson suggested he had illegally handled a stone. “Our team wouldn’t cheat and doesn’t cheat,” Kennedy said, voicing full support for his teammates and their performance this week.

The controversy centres on the hog line rule. In curling, a player may touch the stone multiple times before it crosses the hog line. However, once the stone passes that line, any contact – even an accidental late release – is considered a double touch violation, and the stone is immediately removed from play.

On Saturday, Canada’s Rachel Homan had a rock removed after officials ruled she had committed a double touch. Kennedy’s alleged infraction was not called during play but was later highlighted on super slow-motion video captured by a spectator. In the wake of the controversy, two umpires have been removed from the competition – a decision Canada’s coach believes will ultimately benefit the game.