Breaking: Legal fight involving ex-Carlton president Luke Sayers to play out publicly

Former Carlton president Luke Sayers is involved in a legal battle with his wife over a nude photo. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)

A photo of then-Carlton president Luke Sayers's penis was posted to a social media account in January 2025.

His wife Cate later sued him for defamation in the Supreme Court over claims she was responsible for posting the picture.

A judge-only trial could take place in November after the Supreme Court ruled it was the appropriate venue to decide the case.

A bitter legal fight between former Carlton president Luke Sayers and his wife over a lewd photo is set to play out in the public eye after Victoria's Supreme Court ruled the defamation case should stay in its jurisdiction.

A photo of Mr Sayers's penis was posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account in January 2025, leading him to step down as Carlton president.

Mr Sayers denied posting the image, saying his account was "hacked".

A year later, his wife Cate sued him for defamation in the Supreme Court, alleging Mr Sayers provided a statutory declaration to AFL investigators falsely stating that she was responsible for accessing his X account and publishing the picture.

Mr Sayers applied to have the case transferred to the Federal Circuit and Family Court, a move that would effectively prevent media reporting of the case.

However on Wednesday, Justice Andrew Watson dismissed the application, saying the Supreme Court was the more appropriate venue to decide the case.

"This court has a long history of trying defamation proceedings. The first reported defamation cases in this jurisdiction date from 1856, four years after the court was established," he wrote.

Ms Sayers's legal team argued the case should stay in the Supreme Court and be put before a jury to decide at a trial.

The case will be heard in the Victorian Supreme Court after a bid by Mr Sayers to have the case moved was rejected. (ABC News: Shane Willner-Browne)

In court documents they said Ms Sayers was seeking "to obtain vindication and to restore her reputation".

The photograph was posted on Mr Sayers's X account on January 8, 2025, while he was in Italy with his wife and their daughters.

The image was quickly deleted, but not before it had been screenshotted by X users.

In court documents, Mr Sayers claimed the post was made while he was in the shower.

A 2025 inquiry launched by the AFL cleared Mr Sayers of breaching AFL rules, and found, on the available evidence, that access to his account "was compromised".

"I deeply regret that many other people including my family, friends and colleagues, and my footba