“A big hit with the younger demographic” – Why Cork have been wearing controversial jersey

“This strip is not to be confused with our official ‘away’ strip."

The training tops are normally always a bit more colourful and adventurous with the design, but this particular jersey caught the eye of fans who couldn't help but notice the red and black colours all mixed together in a camouflaged sort of pattern.

The fact that it matched the shorts as well was particularly noticeable, and maybe it wouldn't have got the same amount of attention if they had just plain black or white O'Neills ones, but they have gone all out and it received a lot of negative comments online.

Cork GAA explain why the county team have been wearing controversial training jerseys in recent matches.

“As part of our agreement with O'Neill's we have an arrangement to wear an alternative strip for one league fixture in the even numbered years in order to promote sales," said Cork County Board secretary/CEO Kevin O’Donovan at Tuesday night’s monthly meeting.

“In addition to the regular royalty payment from O'Neill's, Sports Direct contribute an additional royalty for such alternative jerseys.

“This strip is not to be confused with our official ‘away’ strip which is, of course, white. This will continue to be worn in the event of any colour clashes with our primary red and white jerseys.

"Both O’Neill’s and Sports Direct have been great supporters in recent times and have always stayed loyal to our primary colours in our main and away kits. All jerseys must be approved by Croke Park in advance.

"The required permission was granted in advance of the two games in question."

Despite online comments highlighting the unusual nature of the kit, Cork say that the sales have gone up, which was probably helped by the fact that they won the games that they wore it in.

"All marketing and sales advice before and after the games has been that it has been a big hit with the younger demographic at whom it was targeted. A major spike in sales was noted following the team’s wearing of the jersey.

"We may communicate the context of such jerseys more widely in advance but all commercial endeavours continue to pursue financial stability and the promotion of our games and teams.

“Sometimes, there must be some give and take and fortunately our teams grabbed two vital wins while wearing the somewhat controversial kit, which will now return to the training field and hopefully the streets of Cork."