Olympic curling controversy takes aim at Canada

Controversy is swirling in curling at the Winter Olympics and it's all centring on whether the mighty Canadian team is cheating.

Both men's and women's teams have now been accused of the same infraction: double-touching the curling stone after it is released.

It comes as the historic curling powerhouse finds its ego bruised. Its mixed doubles team didn't even play for a medal, and its women's team cannot afford to lose more matches if they hope to advance.

Here's a look at the whole controversy and why it has exploded:

On Friday, Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian curler Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice. Kennedy blew up, launching an expletive-laden outburst.

That was before video appearing to show a clear double-touch by Kennedy circulated on social media, taken by Swedish public broadcaster SVT. Still, he maintained his innocence. The Canadians won the match, 8-6.

The vice-skips at the heart of the tension — Kennedy and Eriksson — stuck to their guns a day after an on-ice discussion about 'double-touching' curling stones evolved into a profanity-laced interaction that generated international headlines.

NEW: Canadian curler Marc Kennedy has a meltdown after Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson called him out for cheating.<br><br>The outburst came after Eriksson accused Kennedy of double-touching the rock.<br><br>Eriksson: You're touching the rock.<br><br>Kennedy: Who is doing it?<br><br>Eriksson: It has been… <a href="https://t.co/lSR6MGHhH0">pic.twitter.com/lSR6MGHhH0</a>

The controversy didn't stop there. On Saturday, the Swiss team accused Canada of the same thing as skip Yannick Schwaller defeated Canada and Brad Jacobs 9-5 in a