AFL great Wayne Carey says the zip-lock bag of white powder he was caught carrying at a Crown casino didn’t contain any illegal substances, and instead was full of legal ‘crushed up anti-inflammatory drugs’ he uses for pain.
The North Melbourne legend, 51, has reportedly received a two-year ban from Crown premises after the bag allegedly fell from his pocket onto the gaming table of the company’s Perth Promenade Hotel on Thursday night.
Onlookers watched as an alarm sounded and Carey was evicted from the casino by in-house security.
The AFL Hall-of-Famer has now been stood down from his role at Channel Seven and ‘relieved of his on-air duties’ for Triple M Footy.
Carey broke his silence about the allegations on Monday night telling the The Age the substance in the bag wasn’t illegal, but rather ‘an anti-inflammatory that he took with dinner’.
‘It was not an illegal substance, it was offered to security. Security didn’t take it,’ he said.
‘They just said it’s not a great look, I understood that, and we left without incident.’
AFL great Wayne Carey was kicked out of a Crown casino after he was busted with a zip-lock bag of unidentified white powder
Carey with his partner Jessica Paulke at the Fashion Aid Twilight Beach Polo on February 16, 2018 in Melbourne (pictured)
Carey was in Perth to cover Saturday’s match between the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle.
A Crown spokesperson confirmed the incident to The West Australian, saying ‘a patron was escorted from the premises’ and ‘the incident was handled within our standard procedures’.
‘At Crown Perth our priority remains keeping our guests, employees and the community safe,’ the spokesperson said.
‘As trained professionals, our employees are entrusted to maintain a safe and enjoyable environment for customers and staff at all times, and will take necessary action to ensure these policies are abided by.’
Wayne Carey of the Kangaroos celebrates with the premiership trophy after the AFL Grand Final match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 1996
With the star being reportedly being told he now faces a two-year ban from all Crown venues, it means the AFL champion will be barred from attending the AFL-sanctioned Brownlow Medal ceremony which will be held at Crown Palladium in Melbourne.
When contacted by The Herald Sun about the incident, Channel Seven managing director Lewis Martin said: ‘I have spoken to Wayne and he has agreed to stand aside, pending an investigation’.
Carey added that he has now found another hotel to stay at while in Perth.
A spokesperson for Triple M also said the station had agreed with Carey that he be stood down while an investigation was conducted.
The North Melbourne legend has reportedly received a two-year ban from Crown premises after the bag allegedly fell from his pocket onto the gaming table of the company’s Perth Promenade Hotel on Thursday night
Wayne Carey reveals what he said to Anthony Stevens to kick off their clash in a pub 20 years after he cheated with his ex-teammate’s wife in footy’s biggest sex scandal
By Shayne Bugden for Daily Mail Australia
North Melbourne premiership legend Wayne Carey has pinpointed what prompted his pub clash with Anthony Stevens on Saturday as the bad blood between the pair boiled to the surface decades after he betrayed his ex-teammate in one of the AFL’s most infamous incidents.
Carey’s fling with Stevens’ ex Kelli became the biggest sex scandal in Australian sports history when they were caught together in a toilet at a house party in 2002, leading to the two-time premiership captain leaving the club in disgrace.
The pair were at Yarraville’s Railway Hotel in inner-city Melbourne for a 1996 premiership reunion on Saturday night when they had a heated altercation.
Carey (pictured left, with Stevens in 1999) says the pair’s clash happened after he told his ex-mate he was worried about him and urged him to look after himself
The Kangaroos premiership winner (second from right during the reunion of the club’s 1996 flag-winning team on Sunday) is adamant that reports the confrontation almost got physical are way off the mark
Carey has denied reports they had to be physically separated after their row left Kangaroos teammates ‘stunned’, but has now come clean on what led to the stoush.
‘I wanted to have a conversation with Stevo, I was worried about him,’ he said on Triple M radio on Wednesday.
‘I said ‘I am worried about you’ and … he obviously took a little bit of umbrage to me saying I was worried about him.
‘I said I want him to look after himself like people want me to look after myself.
‘Now, he took a little bit of umbrage to that, but to say that it was a massive altercation or came to blows, and then we left there and everyone was upset with everyone and it was a big thing, is totally incorrect.’
Stevens (left, clashing with Carey in 2002 after he joined the Adelaide Crows) didn’t attend the reunion on Sunday – with Carey hinting he was absent because he was too hungover
Carey (pictured with his son at the reunion on Sunday at Marvel Stadium) claims he and Stevens drank together after their ‘firm conversation’ – but reports claim it was actually a heated confrontation that almost got physical
Calling what followed his remarks a ‘firm conversation’, the player once known as ‘The King’ also claimed he and Stevens drank together afterwards and left the venue together.
Stevens didn’t join his former teammates as they celebrated their 1996 premiership win with a motorcade at the Kangaroos game against the Swans the following day, despite being one of the organisers of the event in his role as a North board member and head of the team’s past player association.
It was reported he boycotted the get together after being ‘shattered’ by the heated exchange.
However, Carey hinted that his ex-mate didn’t attend because he was too hungover from the night before.
‘Stevo wasn’t well,’ he claimed.
‘He had a reasonable night, it would be fair to say, we all had a reasonable day, Stevo maybe bigger than the others, so he didn’t attend the Sunday.’
Carey’s fling with Stevens’ wife Kelli (pictured together) became the biggest sex scandal in AFL history when it was uncovered in 2002
The player once known as ‘The King’ (centre, with Anthony Stevens left, fellow North legend Glenn Archer right) took well over a decade to apologise for his betrayal
Carey’s affair with Kelli emerged in 2002, after an encounter at party hosted by club champion Glenn Archer attended by Kangaroos players.
Kelli followed Carey into a bathroom to discuss their sordid relationship, which started weeks earlier.
Stevens and Carey played together for North Melbourne from 1989 to 2001 before the betrayal was uncovered.
After leaving the club in disgrace, Carey joined the Adelaide Crows in 2003, and took the field against his former teammates in an fiery clash that saw him come face-to-face with Stevens.
In a twist, Stevens was named captain of the club following Carey’s departure.
In an interview with veteran journalist Mike Sheahan on Fox Footy in 2015, Stevens said he told his ex-teammate to ‘stick it’ at the time, but was also disappointed in Carey’s behaviour following the betrayal.
‘It’s the one thing he has never done,’ Stevens said, when asked by Sheahan if Carey has apologised.
‘He has never actually gone out of his way to say sorry – for whatever reason.’
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