A family holiday in Italy in early 2025 became the backdrop to a scandal involving former Carlton and PwC chief Luke Sayers, after a lewd photograph was posted on his X account. The image, shared on 8 January, was deleted about 15 minutes later, with an apology claiming the account had been hacked. The incident led to the collapse of his marriage to Cate Sayers, with whom he has four daughters, and his departure as a Carlton director.
In court documents, Cate Sayers alleges that a statutory declaration signed by her husband wrongly blamed her for the post. She claims the declaration contained confidential and false information about her sexual history, mental health, medical history and family relationships, according to documents filed in the Victorian Supreme Court.
Cate Sayers also claims the AFL cleared Luke Sayers of any wrongdoing within two weeks, without conducting a proper investigation. Her lawyers argue the league failed to interview her, did not forensically examine his phone or X account, and did not ask for proof of the medical reason he claimed for the photo’s existence.
The declaration allegedly included 11 false claims, including that she had been raped as a schoolchild by a teacher and his wife, and that the teacher was serving a life sentence. Luke Sayers’ lawyers have yet to respond to the latest claims, which also state that a letter from his lawyers in March contained an admission that the photo was not taken for medical purposes.
In earlier court documents, Luke Sayers’ lawyers maintained that the contents of the declaration were true and required as part of the AFL investigation. They argued that it was a confidential and legally privileged document, and that its contents had been further publicised by his wife’s court action. The case may expose how the AFL investigates its own, with processes criticised as self-serving and opaque.
