Shane McGrath says he felt Brian Cody was "wrong" for taking his time before shaking Henry Shefflin's hand following Kilkenny's victory over Galway in Saturday's Leinster hurling final at Croke Park.
Many minutes after the final whistle of Kilkenny's five-point win - like they did earlier in the championship - Cody and Shefflin had a brief handshake. Shefflin walked away shaking his head, appearing unhappy with the interaction.
"I felt the Kilkenny manager was wrong in this instance," Tipperary All-Ireland winner Shane McGrath told RTÉ Radio One's Sunday Sport.
"I was up in Salthill, and Henry was the winning manager that day - he made his way towards Brian. Brian was infuriated with the result, that's fair enough.
"Regardless of what happens in sport, whether it is GAA, soccer, one of the first things that happens is the managers will go towards each other, win, lose, or draw. Usually, the winning manager will make the move.
"That didn't seem to happen yesterday. I would have been lucky enough to play against the greatest hurling team ever, that Kilkenny group, we had fair battles against them, and one of the first things that always happened between us was that the managers would go down and shake hands.
"I felt sorry for Henry Shefflin. He met his few club buddies afterwards. I know that afterwards, from talking to people, that he stayed in the tunnel and shook everyone of the Kilkenny lads' hands.
"Who am I to question Brian Cody? I'm not doing that. When the sports history of Ireland is written, Brian Cody will be up there among the top people, but so will Henry Shefflin.
"I thought what happened yesterday was away from sport. What they've done together... they're personal friends, I'm sure... Friendship should mean more than sport. I don't think it did yesterday for one person in particular."
Henry Shefflin and Brian Cody Leinster final handshake
🤝There was a bit of a wait but the sequel to the 'Handshake' did occur between Brian Cody and Henry Shefflin #RTEGAA #LeinsterFinal pic.twitter.com/GeChTXOBLq
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 4, 2022
McGrath added that he thought the Leinster final was "a poor game".
"A lot of people are saying, 'Why is everyone talking about what happened after the game?'" said McGrath.
"Because what happened during the game wasn't great! That would be my opinion, and from talking to people who were at it as well.
"The atmosphere was lost because of the crowd that was there. There are people saying it should be on in Tullamore, maybe it should be on in Portlaoise. Maybe more people should go to the match!
"Is the price of tickets an issue? We're here today [at the Munster hurling final], and the place is absolutely packed. It's absolutely heaving.
"Because of the quality of the game, the main talking points were Hawkeye not working, and what happened after the game between the two managers."
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