Curling controversy continues at Winter Olympics as Team GB's Bobby Lammie hit with infraction in match against Germany
Published 15/02/2026 at 18:18 GMT
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Another day of curling, more controversy in Cortina. The event has been incident-packed at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games so far, with several teams being accused of "double-touching." World Curling has taken steps to combat illegal moves used by players and in Sunday's win against Germany Team GB's Bobby Lammie became the latest to be caught breaking the rule. GB are second in the round-robin.
Watch the moment Team GB get caught up in new curling foul controversy
Video credit: TNT Sports
With increased surveillance in place for curling matches at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, following the expletive-laden double-touching controversy involving Canada, Team GB's men were punished during their victory against Germany.
The British quartet came out on top in the round-robin clash - winning 9-4 - but had a stone removed when Bobby Lammie was penalised for double-touching, which is against the rules.
Team GB skip Bruce Mouat did not appear to protest the decision.
In curling, players are prohibited from touching the stone again after releasing it down the ice.
There has been plenty of controversy since Canada's Marc Kennedy was accused of double-touching on two occasions.
The first incident happened during Canada's win over Sweden on Friday, when Kennedy was involved in a heated argument with opponent Oskar Eriksson.
On Saturday, Switzerland reported Kennedy for the same offence, as Canada ran out winners again.
Meanwhile, Canada's women's team also came under fire for double-touching as Rachel Homan was accused by Switzerland.
Following the continuous dispute over double-touching, World Curling announced that, starting Saturday, it would designate two officials to rotate among the four curling matches during each round.
The governing body also explained that it could not have umpires positioned at each hog line, which is where the players release the stones and double-touching occurs.
Video replays are not used for reviewing game play - and curlers are split on whether it should be introduced.
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'You can f*** off!' - Curling beef erupts over cheating accusations
Video credit: TNT Sports
"If they bring that in, I think it probably disrupts the speed of play," said Johanna Heldin, the alternate for the Swedish women's team.
"We’ve always been a game that tries to play by the rules and have that high sportsmanship level, so hopefully we can figure that back out."
USA's Tara Peterson said she would "absolutely" support video replay, adding: "There’s instances where an instant replay would be huge."
Team GB are second in the men's round-robin table, one place above Canada - having played a match more - with Switzerland currently leading the way.
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Watch: 'That's insane!' - MORE curling drama as Canada demand 'proof' over stone removal
Video credit: TNT Sports
Bruce Mouat's side have won four of their five matches, beating Germany, Czechia, Sweden and China, with their only loss coming to Italy, as they chase a semi-final spot.
During their match against Germany on Sunday, Team GB found themselves on the wrong side of an incredibly tight call but it did not stop them from sailing to victory.
"I think we're starting off games really strong, which is such an important thing for us," Team GB's skipper Mouat said.
"Getting the two points early in the game to then give us that lead is what's worked really well for us at the start of the games.
"Obviously the game against Italy, we don't need to talk about too much, but I think every other game we've performed really well and got the two on the board early."
- Bankes and Nightingale win gold to give Team GB historic second success of Games
- Team GB women lose to Sweden in hit to semi-final curling hopes
- Brignone wins gold again, Shiffrin finishes outside top 10 and silver medals shared
Great Britain's men have not claimed curling gold since the first Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix.
Four years ago they secured the silver medal, having lost against Sweden, while Canada picked up the bronze medal.
The women went one step further at the Beijing Games in 2022, beating Japan in the final to win their first gold medal since 2002.
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
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