Scandal-struck footy boss Luke Sayers resurfaces SOLO in the pit lane at the Grand Prix – and gives his blunt three-word response to ‘d*** pic’ row

Embattled former Carlton president Luke Sayers made his return to the public eye at the Melbourne Grand Prix on Sunday following his ‘d*** pic’ row.

Sayers, who was on a family holiday in Italy when the scandal broke, was seen hobnobbing with celebrities in the exclusive Paddock Club Chairman’s Club at Albert Park. 

It’s understood the father of four attended the exclusive star-studded event after a personal invite from Grand Prix Chairman Martin Pakula.

Sayers appeared to be flying solo, with wife Cate nowhere to be seen, as he drank Heineken alongside Melbourne movers and shakers including VRC chairman Neil Wilson, deputy Victorian Liberal leader Sam Groth and celeb chefs Shannon Bennett and Matt Moran.

Sayers quit the top position at Carlton on January 22 despite the AFL Integrity Unit finding he was not responsible for the sending of a graphic sexual image from his X account on January 9.

A female executive with the health insurance company BUPA, one of Carlton’s key sponsors, was tagged in the post which featured a photo of a penis, but Sayers later dismissed having any connection to her.

Sayers was quizzed at Sunday’s Grand Prix – which was won by McLaren’s Lando Norris – about how he was following the row, and he replied simply: ‘I’m doing okay’.

It’s been reported Sayers said he was staying in Melbourne until at least Wednesday but it’s unknown if he and his wife will return to their home in Lucca, Northern Italy.

Sayers, who also quit his role as chairman of his consulting company Sayers Group, was still overseas when he announced his resignation but soon went to ground and remained holed up at an Italian villa while he waited for the scandal to blow over.

The fallout from the Sayers’ scandal included BUPA cancelling its naming rights for the club’s Run for Respect event which was held on February 2.

The run was held to raise funds for the Blues’ charity work.

The company insisted BUPA will keep its relationship going with Carlton.

But a spokesman added: ‘BUPA continues to prioritise the wellbeing, privacy and safety of our employee.’

Cate Sayers also left her position as a director at Inclusion Foundation, a charity which helps kids with Down syndrome, in October, while her husband remains on the board.

The couple also put their Melbourne mansion in ritzy Hawthorn East up for sale the same month.

It sold 29 days later on November 28 for $16.5million, although neighbours told Daily Mail Australia they had rarely seen Sayers there in recent years. 

The couple’s charity was also aligned with Carlton and participated in matchday activities involving Blues games. 

With Carlton’s season off to a disastrous start following a shock loss to the Tigers on Thursday night and forward Elijah Hollands taking indefinite leave for ‘personal reasons’, Sayers used Sunday’s Grand Prix to resurface publicly.

The lifelong Carlton supporter quit the Blues, effective immediately, just minutes after the AFL’s Integrity Unit published its findings backing him over the post on January 9.

Sayers revealed he ended his 12-year involvement with the club at the executive level with an emotional statement.

‘Leading the Carlton Football Club has been one of the great honours and privileges of my life,’ he said.

‘I leave knowing the club is in great shape, and with my deepest gratitude for its understanding and support.

‘I deeply regret that other people including my family, friends and colleagues and football club have been caught up in this matter.

‘The past two weeks have been very tough for everyone who has been impacted by an unauthorised social media post.

‘I did not post the image, either deliberately or accidentally … I am aware of speculation that the naming of another person in the post explains why it happened.

‘It does not, and that narrative is wrong.’

The AFL made the ruling after the league’s Integrity Unit concluded its investigation, noting that Sayers and the Carlton club had assisted with its inquiries.

‘The integrity unit’s inquiries, which included multiple interviews and review of other evidence, have now concluded and the AFL has found, based on the available evidence, that access to Mr Sayers’ X account was compromised, resulting in the posting of the image (i.e. by a person not being Mr Sayers) and tagging of another person,’ the league said in a statement.

Sayers noticed the shocking development after the photo had been online for 12 minutes, at which point he hastily deleted the image and apologised to his followers, claiming he had been targeted by cyber criminals.

‘Sorry, my account has been hacked – please ignore all posts,’ he wrote.

The father-of-four’s account, which had more than 7,300 followers, was deleted but the post had already been reposted and screen-grabbed by other X users.

He previously told Daily Mail Australia he had launched a full investigation into the hack after it was first revealed. 

‘This is outrageous,’ he said. ‘I’m investigating and will leave no stone unturned finding out who did this to me and my family.’