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Controversy hits Olympic curling match after 'burned rock' foul

What the players did was completely legal, but really frowned upon.
Denmark's Madeleine Dupont (R) shouts for instructions during the curling women's round robin session between Denmark and Canada during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Curling Centre in Gangneung on February 16, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / WANG Zhao (Photo credit should read WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images)

Curling has a code of ethics.

It's like golf. You shouldn't try and distract your opponent. No cheering on missed shots. Just be a good sport.

Curling is also self-regulated by the players. There's no referee. So when controversy hits, the teams have to settle it between themselves.

That's what happened on Friday during Canada and Denmark's women's match.

In the 5th end, one of the Danish players touched a rock on the ice while she was sweeping. When a player touches a rock, it's a foul called a "burned rock."

When that happens, the team who didn't commit the foul has three options. They can ignore the foul and play on, they can rearrange the stones to where they believed they would be if the player didn't touch a rock, or they can remove the stone that was touched from the sheet.

The Danish player barely touched the rock, but nevertheless, she touched it. Canada's captain, Rachel Homan, decided to remove the rock from play. While she's completely allowed to do that, curling fanatics believe Homan broke the code.

WATCH: Controversy between Denmark and Canada during curling match

It was a big deal in that end because Canada ended up scoring four points in the end. But Denmark still won the match 9-8.

"I wouldn't have done it, but we're different that way," Madeline Dupont, Demark's captain, told the AP. "I'm not going to be mad about it. She can choose to do whatever she wants."

She told a CBC reporter that during the match, she thought karma would hit the team for removing the stone. Since Denmark left with the win, she got what she wanted.

Homan said she was just following the rules.

"There are options, and we've burned rocks in the past and they've come off," she said. "Burning a rock is not something that you can do. So obviously, we've done it in the past and they just happened to do that then. So it's just the rules, I guess."

It's the Olympics. Athletes should do whatever they believe puts them in a position to win as long as it is legal.

So throw out the good etiquette. Let's make curling a little more interesting. Bring on the controversies.

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