Fresh questions have emerged over the AFL’s Luke Sayers d*** pic investigation as a Supreme Court battle continues.
The revelation comes as former Carlton president Luke Sayers and his estranged wife Cate prepare for a Supreme Court defamation battle that is expected to be heard later this year.
Sayers stepped down as Carlton president in January 2025 after a photograph of his penis was posted from his X account while he was on a family holiday in Italy.
The image, which tagged a female executive from major Carlton sponsor Bupa, was deleted within minutes but quickly spread online.
Sayers insisted his account had been hacked and denied posting the image himself.
Days later, the AFL cleared him of breaching the league’s respect and responsibility rules, finding on the available evidence that access to his account had been compromised.
Fresh questions have emerged about how the AFL investigated Luke Sayers’ infamous d*** pic scandal
Sayers, pictured with two of his daughters, was cleared by the AFL, but new information has come to light
AFL boss Andrew Dillon has publicly backed the league’s integrity investigation
But scrutiny of that investigation has intensified following reports that AFL integrity chief Tony Keane received a draft statutory declaration from Sayers’ camp before the official version was submitted.
Sayers provided a sworn statutory declaration to the AFL during the league’s investigation into the incident.
The contents of that declaration are now central to an ongoing defamation lawsuit brought by his estranged wife Cate Sayers.
The Daily Mail has contacted the AFL for comment on the statutory declaration.
Cate Sayers alleges the statutory declaration contained false claims that damaged her reputation, including allegations concerning her involvement in the publication of the image, her mental health and other personal matters.
Court documents indicate Cate later discovered a draft version of the statutory declaration on her husband’s phone, which became a significant part of the dispute between the pair.
She launched defamation proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria earlier this year, claiming her reputation suffered significant harm after details from the declaration became known.
Luke Sayers had hoped to have the hearing conducted in the more secretive Family Court
Sayers resigned as Carlton president days after the explicit image was posted online
Court documents reveal the couple exchanged tense messages after Sayers resigned from Carlton.
‘The world thinks I posted it. Thanks,’ Cate wrote.
‘You saved yourself and again dumped me right in it as the person who accessed your account. Read the media narrative.’
Sayers rejected the allegation.
‘Cate that is not true,’ he replied.
‘Nobody I know thinks you had anything to do with it. I was hacked.’
Cate’s legal team has also questioned the thoroughness of the AFL investigation, noting she was never interviewed and that Sayers’ phone was not forensically examined.
Last week, Sayers suffered a setback when Justice Andrew Watson rejected his bid to move the case from the Supreme Court to the Federal Circuit and Family Court.
Sayers maintains he was hacked despite the ongoing legal battle that will head back to court later this year
The move would have significantly restricted public reporting of the proceedings.
In his ruling, Justice Watson said the Supreme Court was the appropriate forum for the dispute.
‘This court has a long history of trying defamation proceedings,’ he wrote.
‘Defamation matters have rarely, if ever, been conducted in conjunction with family law proceedings in the Family Court.’
The decision means the case will continue to play out in public, with a judge-only trial expected to be held in November.
AFL chairman Craig Drummond has previously defended the league’s handling of the matter, saying he had seen ‘nothing that would give me cause for concern’ regarding the integrity investigation.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has also backed the process.
‘I will absolutely stand by the integrity investigation,’ Dillon said earlier this year.
Following the latest revelations, the AFL reiterated its position.
‘The AFL stands by its process and people in relation to this matter,’ a spokesman said.
‘Across January 2025, the AFL investigated the matter to understand if Luke Sayers had breached AFL rules as a registered official, in his then role as Carlton president.
‘The AFL’s jurisdiction to investigate such matters is confined to registered officials and the potential breach of any AFL Rules.’
