Former Carlton president Luke Sayers has settled a bitter defamation dispute with his ex-wife, Cate, issuing an unreserved apology for the “extreme hurt and harm” caused to the mother of their four daughters.
The confidential agreement, reached at the eleventh hour in the Supreme Court of Victoria, brings an end to proceedings over Sayers’ handling of a scandal involving an explicit photograph posted from his X account.
Lawyers for the former couple told the court on Friday that the case had been resolved, avoiding a trial that was expected to examine the conduct of senior AFL figures and the league’s integrity unit.
The photograph, which showed Sayers’ penis, was posted in January 2025 and also tagged a female executive at one of Carlton’s sponsors. Sayers said at the time that his account had been hacked, while the AFL later cleared him of wrongdoing after finding that access to the account had been compromised. ([afl.com.au](https://www.afl.com.au/news/1264427/carlton-blues-league-probe-president-luke-sayers-after-lewd-social-media-post/amp?utm_source=openai))
Cate Sayers brought the defamation claim over a statutory declaration her former husband provided during the AFL investigation. She argued that the document falsely suggested she was responsible for publishing the image.
The declaration stated that her denials could not be trusted and included claims about her mental health and medication. It also requested that neither the police nor the AFL interview her.
The AFL accepted the declaration at face value and did not investigate its accuracy, according to the case material. Cate Sayers’ legal action was based on allegations that the statements were false and damaging.
The dispute had been expected to expose how Sayers, his advisers, Carlton and the AFL handled the scandal. Sharon McCrohan, the league’s executive general manager of corporate affairs, general counsel Stephen Meade and integrity chief Tony Keane were among those whose conduct could have come under scrutiny.
The hearing had already been postponed twice as the parties attempted to reach an agreement. Sayers had also unsuccessfully sought to have the case moved from the Supreme Court to the Federal Circuit and Family Court, a step that would have limited public reporting of the proceedings. ([abc.net.au](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-03/luke-sayers-defamation-case/106753934?utm_source=openai))
Sayers was represented by Leon Zwier and Matt Collins KC of Arnold Bloch Leibler. Cate Sayers was represented by Rebekah Giles of Giles George and Sue Chrysanthou SC.
