Andrew MacDougall

Partner @trafalgarstrat. Sr Policy Fellow @MediaTechDem. Columns @the_lineca, @torontostar & elsewhere. Fmr Head of Comms to PM Stephen Harper. Opinions mine.

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

My father passed away on Easter Sunday.

A one-time Ottawa city councillor, a dedicated family doctor, and my example for so much in my life.

Here is my tribute to him in the @OttawaCitizen 🙏🏻

https://t.co/ugurr5sXwo

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

Woah. Tell us how you really feel, Mr. Dacre

[Chris Ship @chrisshipitv]

Editor-in-Chief of Associated Newspapers, Paul Dacre, has didn’t hold back in his response to the High Court judgement.
“There isn't a laundry in the cosmos big enough to wash all the dirty linen he has aired about his own family. For him, to complain about HIS privacy being invaded takes, not just the biscuit, but the whole tin.”

[Ani Kaprekar @AniKaprekar]

Welcome, Jag. ✨

Fantastic to have you on the advisory board @trafalgarstrat.

I am looking forward to working alongside you, @JonathanBadyal @AGMacDougall @gileskenningham and the TS team.

Read More >> https://t.co/e3FZZzLB0H

Exciting times ahead. ✊🏻

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

@HLTCO There's a deep insecurity there.

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

👀👀👀

[Nigel Farage MP @Nigel_Farage]

I will make a statement on my future in public life at 2pm.

[Parisienne 🇫🇷🇪🇺 @75002Parisienne]

Now this one is funny on several levels … 😏

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

Thank you, major platforms of the attention economy

[Anton Jäger @AntonJaegermm]

Lenin said you have to be "as radical as reality itself" but maybe the problem is reality no longer exists

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

@Pagmenzies That Portugal start Ronaldo is incredible. They would be so much better with Ramos

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

Surprised PCO would allow this…

[Paul Vieira @paulvieira]

Canada PM Carney had been regularly messaging Europe’s major leaders using a British phone number from his time in London, trying to persuade them that “the old America isn’t coming back.” His arguments were gaining ground after his Davos speech. https://t.co/OLQx9sM6vf

[Dale Johnson @DaleJohnsonBBC]

This is an incredible story.

The Belgian FA saying it didn't appeal, it only asked for the written reasons.

Fifa considered this request to constitute an appeal.

The appeal will be inadmissible because the Belgian FA does not have the written reasons.

[Nick De Marco KC @nickdemarco_]

I was just reading about this. To me, it makes matters considerably worse.
The issue is no longer simply whether the original red card was justified. It is whether FIFA has undermined the integrity of the World Cup, and its own authority as the global regulator of football, by appearing either to invent a procedure or, at the very least, to apply its rules in a wholly unprecedented way, against a backdrop of acknowledged political pressure, while refusing to give reasons and seemingly leaving the decision with no meaningful avenue of challenge.

As someone committed to sporting integrity, transparency, fairness and the rule of law in sport, if the reports of what has happened are accurate, I find this deeply troubling.

For years I have represented players and others facing lengthy bans for betting offences where there has been no suggestion whatsoever of match manipulation, because the governing bodies, including FIFA, have consistently argued that preserving confidence in the integrity of the sport requires robust and uncompromising enforcement.

If that is the standard expected of participants, the regulator itself must be held to at least the same standard. If the reports are accurate, this decision, and the consequences for FIFA, could prove to be truly seismic, eclipsing the controversy about the red card itself.

#sportslaw #sports #fifa #balogun

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

Starmer - we weren't prepared for government.

Burnham - hold my 🍺

[Lucy Fisher @LOS_Fisher]

Andy Burnham faces warnings that “access talks” btwn transition team and the civil service risk being undermined by his refusal to confirm his cabinet before entering office, in turn fuelling jitters about his readiness for power

One Labour figure complained Burnham’s operation was “skeletal”, adding: “Access talks require a shadow cabinet. Burnham needs to nominate key people in advance or he cannot have meaningful talks.”

Appointment of key ministers at Home Office, FCDO & MoD would also allow relevant security briefings to take place and mean special advisers could be chosen and security vetting processes could begin, they added.

Several other Labour officials warned that Burnham declining to confirm his cabinet picks now would make it more difficult for the eventual appointees to hit the ground running, because those new to their roles would not have had the benefit of being “read in” on all the issues facing their departments in advance via “access talks”

w/ @GeorgeWParker & @AnnaSophieGross

More detail 👇

https://t.co/CTbzMa1Juf

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

@kylamb8 Why, then, did FIFA reaffirm the red card two days after the offence? Article 27 was only deployed *after* Trump called his mate Infantino three times. If you think that's a good or legit process then good luck to you. And again - it was NEVER a red card.

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

So, two wrongs make a right? Got it.

Yes, it was never a red card. But having the President ring up the head of the federation to rewrite the rules (and possibly contravene the rules) is no solution.

[Marc Caputo @MarcACaputo]

The relative silence about the clemency for Ronaldo’s redcard (which was awarded fairly) when compared to Balogun’s redcard (which was not awarded fairly) speaks volumes about their values

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

@MarcACaputo Only there is no appeals process. US Soccer confirmed that much after the match. FIFA then confirmed the ban. Then Trump calls three times and FIFA suddenly finds Article 27 (which is had not referenced while affirming the ban. https://t.co/GgrflYGcj5

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

The kind of thing you do, not threaten to do.

[Press Gazette @pressgazette]

Nigel Farage said he is "considering legal action against The Sunday Times" after the newspaper reported he did not declare benefits provided by ally and convicted criminal George Cottrell. He also called it an "establishment hit job" https://t.co/AEwkexJwCR

[Kenneth Roth @KenRoth]

While Trump walked away with a $636 million profit from his crypto venture, nearly 1 million people who bought into it lost a total of $3.81 billion through the end of June. They were probably mostly his MAGA supporters, but to Trump they were suckers. https://t.co/YICLwOmlp9

[Gabriel Pogrund @Gabriel_Pogrund]

EXCLUSIVE

Nigel Farage failed to declare that a criminal and crypto gambler paid for his staff, security, drivers, social media output in year before election

Reform leader has also received free accommodation in Westminster from George Cottrell as MP
https://t.co/fSKszEDnV1

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

DEPLOY THE DAVIES 🇨🇦

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

Is there a world in which this is not securities fraud? Or could there actually be a benign explanation?

[NBC News @NBCNews]

Investment accounts owned by President Trump engaged in more than 300 previously undisclosed stock purchases on April 8, 2025, one day before his surprise announcement that he would pause a number of his tariffs, his financial disclosure report says. https://t.co/WqQb7csmVS

[Andrew MacDougall @AGMacDougall]

What? You mean giving people a way to bet on literally everything is producing the gaming of systems?

[CONSEQUENCE @consequence]

Kalshi traders have been accused of manipulating Spotify's charts to cash in on music prediction markets, after Malcolm Todd's song "Earrings" suddenly hit No. 1 on Spotify’s global chart.

Upon investigation, Spotify reportedly found evidence of artificial streaming and removed more than 500,000 plays.

https://t.co/5pXvpjeU6O