Carlton president Luke Sayers pushed to face the music over photo scandal

Luke Sayers’ tenure as Carlton president is under increasing pressure as he refuses to address his social media scandal.

Carlton president Luke Sayers’ position at the AFL powerhouse is looking increasingly shaky as he continues to avoid dealing with his apparent social media hack earlier this month.

A lewd photo was publicly tweeted from Sayers’ account on X on Wednesday, January 8, along with the name of a senior female executive of health insurer Bupa, an official member partner of the Blues.

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Sayers swiftly posted a tweet to state he had been hacked and to “please ignore all posts” before deleting that message and then disabling his X account.

He was in Italy with his wife and children at the time of the incident and remains there now, reportedly refusing to answer calls from colleagues before disconnecting his phone.

A social media expert told the Herald Sun it is unusual Sayers could still access his X account after the alleged hack and stated it could have been done by someone who had access to his password.

Carlton president Luke Sayers (right) has gone underground after the scandal broke. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Former footy star Kane Cornes and AFL reporter Sam Edmund discussed the situation on SEN radio on Thursday and said while there has been virtually no progress thus far, “it’s not going to go away”.

“The heat is building around Luke Sayers,” Edmund said in a video clip you can see above.

“We’ve probably danced around this topic for a couple of days, but Carlton won’t comment, the AFL won’t comment and won’t confirm if they are investigating.

“Sayers has maintained he is the victim of a sinister hacking incident, a scenario that social media experts have said is highly unusual given he didn’t appear to be locked out of his account.

“He could tweet a message saying he had been hacked … he’s since deleted that account and remains overseas on holiday with his family in Italy.

Sayers' Twitter post. Picture: X

Luke Sayers and wife Cate (second left) are still in Italy. Picture: Matt Loxton

“This is something that is going to continue to bubble away. It’s not going to go away.”

Sayers has been Carlton’s president since August 2021, taking over the role from Mark LoGiudice.

He appointed ex-Geelong CEO as the Blues’ chief executive and oversaw the sacking of David Teague as coach, replacing him with former Brisbane Lions captain Michael Voss.

Cornes stated his belief that if Sayers is being honest about being hacked, he should return to Australia and assist an investigation.

“The thing that’s surprised me with Luke, if he is adamant, which he is, that he was hacked, get up there and have a press conference,” the Port Adelaide premiership winner said.

(Left to right) Sayers alongside Carlton’s deputy CEO Graham Wright and chief executive Brian Cook at Ikon Park. Photo: Carlton FC

“Face the music. I think he’s lacked courage in this.

“If he’s certain he’s been hacked, he should leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this.

“Fly home. It’s that important. You’re the leader of this football club, fly home, have a press conference, get the police involved and get to the bottom of this.”

Cornes added that holding the top role of one of the biggest clubs in Australia required him to provide some answers on the scandal.

“Answer some questions around it,” he added. “Don’t go to ground, don’t turn your phone off, don’t deactivate your social media, don’t stay overseas.

“You’re the president of the Carlton footy club for goodness sake.”