Carlton president Luke Sayers steps down after AFL inquiry finds he 'did not breach' rules

Carlton Football Club chairman Luke Sayers has announced his resignation after an inappropriate photo appeared on his social media account. The photo was posted on his social media account earlier this month and was subsequently quickly deleted.

In a statement, Mr. Sayers denied posting the photo and cited the findings of an independent investigation initiated by the Australian Football League (AFL). “I did not post the photo, either deliberately or accidentally,” he said. “I fully cooperated with the AFL’s independent investigation, which concluded that my X account was compromised.”

An AFL spokesperson stated that the investigation included “multiple interviews” and a review of evidence. “The AFL has found, based on the available evidence, that Mr. Sayers’ X account was compromised, which led to the image being posted (i.e., posted by a person other than Mr. Sayers) and tagging another individual.” The investigation also found that Mr. Sayers did not breach AFL rules.

Mr. Sayers stated that the other individual mentioned in the post has created a false narrative. “I am aware of speculation that the other individual mentioned in the post explains how this occurred. That is not the case, and this claim is false. I am deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused.”

He stated that his decision to resign was “final”. “I deeply regret that so many others, including my family, friends, colleagues, and my football club, have been caught up in this,” he said. “Leading the Carlton Football Club has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life… I will now step away from public and media attention to deal with this matter.”

A spokesperson for the Carlton Football Club thanked Mr. Sayers for his contributions over the past 12 years and stated that the club now considers the matter closed.