Carlton president Luke Sayers is being investigated by the AFL Integrity Unit after a graphic sexual image was sent from his X account to an executive at one of the club's key sponsors, it has been reported.
The former PWC CEO's account
The public post was directed to the executive's social media account, although the mother of two does not appear to have used X since 2017 and does not follow Sayers on the platform.
Sayers noticed the development after the photo was online for 12 minutes, at which point he quickly deleted it and apologized to his followers, claiming he had been targeted by cybercriminals.
“Sorry, my account has been hacked, please ignore all posts,” he wrote.
Sayers was referred to the Integrity Unit last week and the league is conducting an investigation, according to news corporation.
The AFL Integrity Unit is reportedly investigating Carlton president Luke Sayers (pictured) after his graphic photo scandal was referred to the league last week.
The senior executive claimed he was hacked, but is under increasing pressure to answer more questions about the scandal.
The married father-of-four's account, which had more than 7,300 followers, was deleted, but other X users had already reposted the post and taken a screenshot.
Former Price Waterhouse chief executive Cooper told Daily Mail Australia he was “outraged” by the alleged attack when the news broke.
'This is outrageous. “I am investigating and will spare no effort to find out who did this to me and my family,” he said.
However, more than a week later, Sayers has still not confirmed whether he intends to report the incident to the police, and Carlton Football Club did not respond to requests for comment.
News Corp also claimed that the football club president had stopped responding to messages from colleagues and clients at his private company, Sayers Group, and had since disconnected his phone.
The executive tagged in the hijacked post was at a Carlton Respects lunch, as part of a program run by the club to help counter violence against women, six months ago.
Sayers (pictured with wife Cate) is yet to confirm whether he intends to report the incident to police after saying he would “leave no stone unturned” to find the culprit.
Sources close to the executive told Daily Mail Australia that she was distraught by the incident and “completely shocked” but had since returned to work full-time.
Her family is said to be furious that she has been dragged into the mess.
SEN chief sports reporter Sam Edmund said Sayers needed to address the ongoing scandal because it was not going to simply “go away”.
“The pressure is building around Luke Sayers,” he said while discussing the sage with former AFL star Kane Cornes on air on Thursday.
'We've probably been kicking around this issue for a couple of days but Carlton won't comment, the AFL won't comment and won't confirm whether they're investigating.
'Sayers has maintained that he is the victim of a sinister hacking incident, a scenario that social media experts have said is highly unusual given that he did not appear to have been locked out of his account.
'He could tweet a message saying he had been hacked… he has since deleted that account and remains abroad on holiday with his family in Italy.
'This is something that is going to continue to disappear. “It's not going away.”
The club boss (pictured second from left, with Blues fan and music superstar Robbie Williams second from right and Carlton manager Michael Voss right) and the club have remained silent about the scandal since their comments last Wednesday.
Leading cybercrime investigator Ken Gamble told Daily Mail Australia the key to unmasking those responsible for the graphic photograph posted on the account was quick action.
“The public often does not believe that these types of sexually explicit hacking cases are perpetrated by hackers, but these cybercrimes are on the rise and are more prevalent now than at any other time in history,” he said.
“There are specific steps that must be taken to investigate Mr Sayers' case, including the urgent discovery of otherwise private digital data traces, such as IP subscriber logs to identify the whereabouts of a computer or phone user (behind of the attack).'
The incident comes just over a month after the prominent executive figure and his Cate, who have four daughters together, sold their sprawling mansion in Melbourne's east for more than $16.5 million.
The Sayers purchased the seven-bedroom home in Hawthorn East nearly two decades ago for $4.84 million.