HURLING/Championship 2002: Members of the Gaelic Players' Association staged a protest at yesterday's NHL final in Thurles. In the parade before the match, a number of players marched with socks down and jerseys out - offences punishable by fine under the GAA's match regulations.

There had been speculation that Cork and Kilkenny players would register some sort of token gesture of solidarity with the GPA, which is not recognised by Croke Park as a representative body. A plan to make that gesture was drawn up at the GPA's e.g.m. in Portlaoise nine days ago.

Whereas the majority of the Cork team was committed to this, the situation wasn't as clear-cut in Kilkenny. It was obvious after the parade and before the throw-in that certain Cork players had engaged in the protest as Seán Ó hÁilpín, Diarmuid O'Sullivan and Donal Cusack amongst others made a point of tucking their jerseys back into their shorts.

Kilkenny captain Andy Comerford was one of the few - possibly the only one - to do so on his team.

Team managers were unsurprisingly dismissive of the protest.

"There's absolutely no protest from our players whatsoever," said winning manager Brian Cody. "Socks down is a rule that's a silly rule. A lot of players play with their socks down and when players are fired up, even when they've been pucking around for a quarter of an hour or so before any parade starts.

"The county board have to fork out a few euro, but today was about us going down and representing Kilkenny and everybody involved in hurling in Kilkenny. I definitely wanted to be nowhere else and the players didn't either."

Asked whether the protest affected his players' concentration as they started the match very poorly, Cork manager Bertie Murphy said: "I don't think so. I'd say very little, but I don't think it affected them. The attitude was that we had to win this National League for Cork."