A major controversy involving 'double-touching' violations has escalated at the Winter Olympics, with a British curler now penalized for the same infraction that previously targeted Canadian teams, prompting debate over rule enforcement and video replays.
The Winter Olympics curling competition has been rocked by a widening 'double-touching' controversy, initially centered on Canadian teams, but now impacting Britain. On Sunday, Scottish curler Bobby Lammie of the British men’s team had a stone removed for allegedly touching it after release, a violation previously called against Canadian men and women. The controversy began Friday with an allegation against Canadian men by Sweden, followed by a similar call against Canadian women versus Switzerland. Despite video evidence circulating, both Canadian teams denied wrongdoing. In response, World Curling increased surveillance by assigning two umpires per round, which was in place for Lammie's and Canada's Rachel Homan's penalties. However, the federation later reversed course, making umpires available only by request. Curlers are divided on the intensity of these calls, with some noting this infraction was rarely enforced with such rigor before. The debate extends to introducing video replays; while some, like Sweden's Johanna Heldin, fear it would disrupt play and sportsmanship, U.S. curlers Tara and Tabitha Peterson strongly support it for adjudicating disputes, citing its use in other sports.
