By Marc McGowan
Carlton president Luke Sayers says he is the AFL’s latest social media hacking victim after a lewd image appeared on his personal account.
The now-deleted photo featured a naked man, including his penis, and was posted on Sayers’ X account on Wednesday night. The man’s face could not be seen.
Carlton president Luke Sayers.
A female marketing executive, whose company has a partnership with the Blues, was tagged in the post.
The Carlton boss quickly apologised for the post, claiming it was not him who shared the image.
“Sorry my account has been hacked – please ignore all posts,” he wrote on X.
Sayers, a long-time board member who has been the club’s president since August 2021, has now deactivated the account.
Luke Sayers deleted his social media account after the incident and claims he was hacked.Credit: X
Blues members voted in February last year to extend Sayers’ term until the end of this season.
A Sayers Group spokesperson said on Thursday that Sayers’ X account was hacked and had been temporarily deactivated. Carlton were also contacted for comment.
Sayers, who is on a family holiday in Italy, told the Herald Sun on Thursday: “This is outrageous – I’m investigating and will leave no stone unturned finding out who did this to me and my family.”
In 2023, Sayers found himself in the middle of a boardroom split after board member Craig Mathieson resigned following a clubroom quarrel with Sayers in the wake of a series of on-field losses.
But a massive profit in 2024 has underlined the club’s growing financial clout and its restoration to off-field powerhouse. For the first time since the expansion of the competition to 18 teams, Carlton will receive no additional funding from the AFL this year.
Like power clubs Collingwood, West Coast, Hawthorn and Richmond, the Blues will receive only the minimum base funding – it was about $12 million in 2024. Carlton was previously bracketed alongside Essendon, Geelong, Adelaide and Fremantle in the second tier of club funding.
Sayers is also a former chief executive of PwC Australia, where he worked for 29 years – including eight in the top job – before leaving in 2020.
Since October 2023, the global consulting giant has been embroiled in a scandal involving senior partners allegedly having used confidential government tax plans to attract new clients. It has since spun out its government advisory business and sacked hundreds of staff and dozens of partners.
In October 2023, Sayers appeared before a Senate inquiry and said he knew nothing of the scandal until after he had left PwC.
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