Controversial Australian football great Wayne Carey has denied he was ordered by the AFL not to attend a Hall of Fame function earlier this year.

The two-time premiership winning North Melbourne captain was due to be elevated in the NSW Hall of Fame to ‘Legend’ status at a function in Sydney in May.

But on the morning of the event it was revealed Carey’s elevation had been stymied, and it was reported it was an order from AFL chief Andrew Dillon.

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The AFL was reportedly concerned about the optics of Carey’s elevation on the same weekend the league was making a public stand on violence against women.

Carey was accused of glassing then-partner Kate Nielson in 2007. Nielson did not press charges but later said the incident left her “bleeding profusely from the mouth”.

Speaking on his podcast this week, Carey denied it was Dillon who decided to kibosh his Legend status.

“No, I wasn’t blocked from attending. That was my choice,” Carey told Uncensored with Wayne Carey.

“I still flew up to Sydney, by the way, and spent the weekend there.”

Carey gave his version of the events that transpired in May.

“I got a phone call from a young man at AFL NSW and he said ‘would you accept a call from Andrew Dillon?’,” Carey said.

“I was at the airport about to fly up to Sydney and said ‘of course I’ll accept the phone call’, and we had that phone call.

“It was very brief to be honest, in the end (he said) ‘still go along’… there wasn’t a discussion in and around me being inducted as a legend.

“He said that hadn’t crossed their desk, which I find hard to believe to be honest, but that’s neither here nor there.

“He mentioned still go along, you going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, (but) I don’t want to detract from the rest of the players that were being inducted whether it be legend or just into the Hall of Fame. It would have become a circus.

“And the focus would have been around me unfortunately for them, so I made the decision not to go. I felt that was the right one for everyone at that function.”

Carey said he has no regrets about not going to the function.

“I’ve lost no sleep over it. It sat with me for a little while – was there a little disappointment? I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t,” he said.

“I sit very comfortable with not attending the night and I heard great things. My hero from when I was eight, nine, 10 years old — Laurie Pendrick — got inducted that night. So I was a little bit disappointed that I didn’t get to go and see him be inducted and obviously a fellow Wagga Wagga boy in Paul Kelly being inducted as a legend.

“So from a selfish point of view I would have liked to see those guys enjoy the night.”