More conflict in curling as Canadian women are accused of the same violation as men

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Canada's women's curling team at the Milan Cortina Olympics was accused Saturday of the same violation that prompted an expletive-laden outburst from a Canadian men's curler a day earlier.

The latest accusation in a controversy that has divided the curling community led to more tense moments on the ice at the Cortina Curling Center.

In the first end of the women’s game against Switzerland, which the Swiss ultimately won 8-7, officials called a foul, saying that skip Rachel Homan had touched her stone again after releasing it.

In curling, that’s known as “double-touching,” and it's against the rules.

Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused Canada ’s Marc Kennedy of the same infraction during Canada’s 8-6 win in round-robin play late Friday. On the ice, Kennedy repeatedly used profanity while denying he broke any rules. Although video of his throw appeared to confirm the accusation, Kennedy maintained his innocence into Saturday and went so far as to accuse Sweden of having a “premeditated” plan.

Though the Canadian women were not as fired up in response to the allegation of double-touching, they surely looked incredulous after the call.

“Like, absolutely not,” said Homan, who is known as one of the best skips in the world. “Zero-percent chance.”

Homan's teammate, Emma Miskew, could be heard briefly engaging with an official on the sidelines, asking why video could not be used to review the call. The official explained that the team needed to trust the umpire. By rule, World Curling does not use video to review game play.

Before restarting the match, the Canadian women huddled with their coaches. Expletives could be heard from those in the circle, though it was not clear who uttered them.

After the game, Homan said she felt she'd been unfairly scrutinized because of the controversy on the men’s side.

“I don’t understand the call. I’ll never understand it. We’ve never done that,” she said. “It has nothing to do with us.”

After an early win over Denmark, the Canadian women have lost their last three matches. They lost to the United States on Friday, the first time in Olympic history that the U.S. had beaten Canada in women's curling.

Also in women's action on Saturday, Sweden women beat Italy 8-6, Denmark beat Korea 6-3 and the U.S. beat Japan 7-4.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Canada's Rachel Homan, Emma Miskew and Tracy Fleury strategize during the women's curling round robin session against Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni, Alina Paetz, Selina Witschonke, and Carole Howald strategize during the women's curling round robin session against Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Canada's Emma Miskew, Sarah Wilkes, and Rachel Homan compete against Switzerland's Alina Paetz and Silvana Tirinzoni during the women's curling round robin session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Canada's Rachel Homan, in action during the women's curling round robin session against Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb.14, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

MILAN (AP) — Finland defender Jenni Hiirikoski’s fifth and potentially final Olympic Games are over due to an upper-body injury that will require surgery, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced on Saturday.

Finland was slotted to play Switzerland in a women’s hockey quarterfinal matchup at the Milan Cortina Games later in the day. Hiirikoski was hurt in the first period of a 5-0 preliminary round-closing loss to Canada on Thursday.

Her injury represents the latest setback for the Finns, who’s tournament start was delayed by two days due to a stomach virus depleting the team’s roster.

“It’s a shame that the games are left unfinished,” Hiirikoski said in a press release issued in Finnish and translated into English.

The 38-year-old is a three-time Olympic bronze medalist, and a member of the national team since 2004. Hiirikoski earned top Olympic defender honors in 2014 and 2018.

She's dealt with several injuries in recent years, including being hospitalized after her throat was cut by a skate blade during a Swedish Women's Hockey League game in 2023. Hiirikoski was also sidelined by an illness forcing her to miss the world championships last year.

The Finns went 1-3 in preliminary round play and were shut out three times, with their only victory coming against Switzerland.

Finland entered the tournament as a medal contender. The team won bronze at the 2022 Beijing Games and has won bronze at the past two world championships.

This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Jenni Hiirikoski’s last name in the headline.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Switzerland's Kaleigh Quennec (8) skates with the puck as Finland's Jenni Hiirikoski (6) chases in the first during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)