Goodes, who played a starring role in Sydney's 15.12.102 - 8.7.55 defeat of Collingwood, said the girl's offensive remarks had shocked him. Adam Goodes points the finger after being called an 'ape' by a young Collingwood supporter during the AFL's Indigenous Round. Credit:Andrew White "I'm pretty gutted to be honest," he said. "To come to the boundary line and hear a 13-year-old girl call me an 'ape', and it's not the first time on a footy field that I've been referred to as a 'monkey' or an 'ape', it was shattering." But McGuire told ABC radio on Monday that he had spoken to the girl, who "didn't even know that it was racist".

"I think, you know, she might have lit a fuse that she didn't even understand was involved," McGuire said. Spoke to teen: Eddie McGuire. Credit:Wayne Taylor "She didn't even know it was the Indigenous Round. She was a 13-year-old girl from ... country Victoria, she had no idea what she was doing, what she was saying, or anything else." It has since emerged that Goodes and teammate Lewis Jetta were the target of more abuse during Friday night's game. Footage aired on television on Sunday showed a man wearing a Collingwood jersey screaming at indigenous players: "Give it to Goodes because he is black. Give it to Jetta because he is black. It's indigenous round umpire."

McGuire went into the Sydney Swans' change rooms on Friday night to personally apologise to Goodes, whom he said handled the situation admirably. Goodes did not want the girl to become a scapegoat, McGuire said. "When he told me what happened I said, 'Look, we unconditionally apologise to you. This is something that shouldn't have happened to you. You should have left the ground as the conquering hero in indigenous week'," McGuire said. "I was shattered for him in that situation, that he left the ground with his head down rather than his arms up. "I thought Adam showed tremendous leadership in that situation to not only put his own issues aside but also to head more to the issue rather than just the headline."

McGuire said more work clearly needed to be done to address the problem of racism, not only in sport but in Australian society. He blamed politicians for sending mixed messages on such issues as asylum seekers. "Politicians set the tone for the type of country that we will get and the voters go along with it. We all have to decide whether we're going to be a red neck, hick country, or we are going to be a country that is very much involved in tolerance," he said. But at the same time McGuire said attitudes had come a long way from 20 years ago, when he was told it was acceptable to hurl racist abuse at indigenous players. Fans should be able to go to the football without "bile coming out of your mouth" every time an opposition player gets the ball, he said.

Loading "We live in a very lucky country, but we get revved up by either the media, politicians, our own situation...," he said. "Hey, go to the footy and enjoy yourself, barrack for your team, teach your kids about the ups and downs of life ... that's what it's all about."