A family holiday in Italy last January became the backdrop for an AFL scandal when a lewd photo of Luke Sayers, former president of Carlton Football Club and ex-CEO of PwC, was posted on his X account. The image, which also tagged a senior executive of a major Carlton sponsor, remained online for about 15 minutes before being deleted with a claim that the account was hacked.
Now, over a year later, Cate Sayers has sued her husband for defamation and invasion of privacy, alleging that a statutory declaration he submitted to the AFL falsely blamed her for the post. According to court documents, the declaration contained confidential and allegedly false information about her sexual history, mental health, and relationships, including a claim that she had been raped as a child—an assertion her lawyers argue is untrue.
Cate Sayers' legal team contends that the AFL cleared Luke Sayers of wrongdoing within just two weeks, without conducting a proper investigation. They say the AFL failed to interview Cate, did not forensically examine her husband's phone or X account, and did not seek proof of the medical reason he gave for the photo's existence. The process, they argue, was 'not conducted adequately or honestly' and relied solely on Luke's version of events.
Luke Sayers, through his lawyers, maintains that the contents of the statutory declaration are true and that it was a confidential document required as part of the AFL investigation. He also claims that the photo was taken for medical purposes and that only his wife knew of its existence and the woman tagged. His lawyers have yet to respond to the latest allegations, which also include an admission in a March letter that the photo was not taken for medical reasons.
The case threatens to expose the inner workings of the AFL's investigatory processes, which critics have labelled self-serving and opaque. As the legal battle unfolds, it raises questions about how the league handles allegations involving high-profile figures, potentially pulling back the veil on a system that Cate Sayers' lawyers say favoured her husband's exoneration over a thorough inquiry.
