Sydney captain Adam Goodes says the teenage girl who called him an “ape” during Friday night’s game against Collingwood at the MCG needs support and counselling.

Goodes says if the girl wants to contact him and apologise for the racial slur he will talk to her and explain how hurtful it was.

He has called on people to stop abusing the 13-year-old Collingwood fan through social media, saying she is almost certainly not aware of what she has done.

And AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has offered the girl and her parents support and education from the league if they want it.

The incident was shown clearly on television when Goodes, who was near the boundary line wheeled around and pointed to a girl inside the fence.

Shortly after she was ejected from the ground by security staff.

Goodes said on Saturday that he was devastated by the abuse which came during the first match of the AFL’s highly publicised Indigenous round.

“I’m pretty gutted to be honest,” Goodes said.

He said that the girl’s actions took all the joy out of the Swans’ big victory over Collingwood for him.

“The win, the first of its kind in 13 years, to win by 47 points against Collingwood and (for me) to play such a pivotal role just sort of means nothing.

“To come to the boundary line and to hear a 13-year-old girl call me an ape, and it’s not the first time on the footy field I’ve been referred to as a monkey or an ape – it was shattering.”

However Goodes said that the blame did not lie with the young girl.

“She’s 13-years-old, still so innocent, I don’t put any blame on her.

“Unfortunately it’s what she hears and the environment that she’s grown up in has made her think that it’s OK to call people names.

He was convinced the girl would have no idea how calling somebody an ape would make them feel.

“Unfortunately it cut me deep and affected me so much that I couldn’t even be on the ground last night to celebrate a victory and to celebrate the Indigenous round,” Goodes said.

Demetriou said the AFL, while disappointed, would not seek any sanctions, while Goodes himself told police he did not want to press any charges against the girl.

Demetriou said it was “sad” that the name calling came from a girl who was a minor.

“We’ve got to be very conscious that this is a young girl and from our perspective it’s a girl that I think obviously needs to be educated and counselled and we will do our best to be in contact with her parents to offer that support,” he said.