Young is of Sri Lankan and Scottish heritage but was allegedly called a “monkey” by an elderly man during Brisbane Roar’s 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers in Mudgee on Saturday.

However Vargas, who is of Chilean descent, has called for people to have empathy for the spectator – who was immediately evicted from the stadium – while also adding that he did not condone the actions of the fan.

Vargas’s former teammate Archie Thompson has called for the spectator to be banned for life, but Vargas believes that is too extreme.

The 40-year-old used his own experience as an example from when he clashed with a player who allegedly called him a “black monkey”.

“I saw Jamie Young’s interview last night, he spoke really well,” Vargas told FTBL. 

“It’s happened before in sport and it’s happened to me earlier on in the A-League and it was pretty confronting, not just for myself, but for other A-League players that are from different ethnicities.

“I remember when it happened, I just reacted and went running to the player and the referee was right there.

“Regardless of whether you’re using the word black or not, the term monkey is used in a racial manner. You don’t slur a player like that.

"You might call him a dog, but if you specifically call someone a monkey, you’re referring to race.

“The player ended up getting a one week ban, so I just thought if you’re going to give someone a life ban and they’re a spectator, but a player only gets one week, then that’s a little bit harsh.”

In another incident last year, goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis was given a five week suspension after calling Kosovan Besart Berisha a gypsy in the Melbourne Derby.

Vargas added that the football community needed to have empathy for the fan after the backlash, but added the behaviour should not be tolerated.

The former Victory defender said people need to be able to forgive if the spectator is remorseful. He added that he is on good terms with the player.

“It’s a bit ironic, he got banned and not long after we were together in a Socceroos camp training together and having dinner at the same table," he said. "You need to be able to move on.

“I’d say hi to him if I saw him. I saw him last year at an A-League event and he was one of the guest speakers and in that event he spoke about his troubles during his career and his demons.

"At the time, I had no idea what he was going through.

Young has called for the fan to be educated

“That for me is a perfect example, someone lashes out and says something similar, but you don’t know what this guy is going through or history is.

"The way Jamie Young handled himself in the media was superb and he was talking about educating people, so they know what it means to be on the receiving end and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

“We look at what the guy has done and you can’t just hammer him because he’s made a mistake, there has to be a second chance for him and see how he goes from there.

“For all we know, soccer could be his only outlet and to ban someone for life from something they love… he could be going through depression or he could get it, who knows?

“I’m not condoning what he said because it’s terrible, and I’m also not saying the player who did it to me should’ve got longer.

“We’re all human beings and we all make mistakes. Footballers have made mistakes on the field like using bad language when there are kids around.

"To really hammer someone, by giving him a life ban instead of letting him redeem himself, would be devastating.

“I’m sure he’ll cop a ban of some sort, but it’s a bit full-on to be talking about life bans.”

Vargas also said he was happy with how racism is now treated after experiencing it as a child.

“I remember growing up with my parents in Melbourne, my first language was Spanish and I used to catch the tram with my mum and this was before I played soccer,” he said.

“We’d be speaking Spanish and we’d have people on the tram looking at us and saying, ‘Speak English, you’re in Australia’. We’ve come a long way in 30 years.”