Mason Greenwood was denied a penalty after being played through on goal in the 20th minute of Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Fenerbahce, as Kostas Tsimikas shoved him off balance and stopped him getting a shot away. The referee waved away the claims and VAR did not step in, even as Ally McCoist said on TNT Sports that it was a penalty.
McCoist did not hedge. He said there were two hands on Greenwood and that the challenge prevented a shot on goal, adding that just because the contact did not look dramatic did not mean it was not a penalty. From where the game stood, it was the kind of call that can tilt a European night, because Liverpool went straight up the other end and Trey Nyoni scored with a deflected effort.
Greenwood’s response gave the moment even more bite. He later equalised with a free-kick that appeared to be going wide before a touch from Jeremy Jacquet changed its path, and McCoist noted the goalkeeper would not be happy with the wall. Fenerbahce were already pressing, with Irfan Can Kahveci hitting the bar before Greenwood’s goal and Greenwood himself going close with a left-footed effort from close range.
The disputed non-call sits inside a wider story around Greenwood’s return to the spotlight. He arrived at Fenerbahce from Marseille in the summer in a €39million deal after two years in France, including a loan spell at Getafe, and his move came after he was no longer in the plans of United. United suspended him in 2022 when he was charged with attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour; he denied the charges and they were later dropped before he left permanently.
What remains unanswered is why VAR stayed out of it. Under the laws of the game, a shove becomes a penalty when the contact is enough to stop a player shooting or clearly affects his ability to play the ball, and McCoist said Tsimikas had done exactly that. If the officials judged the contact too slight, they backed a very narrow reading of the incident. If they thought the attack had already gone beyond the threshold for a review, they left a major first-half flashpoint to stand in a Champions League match that changed again moments later.
For Greenwood, the sequence ended with both frustration and vindication: a penalty appeal ignored, then a free-kick that brought Fenerbahce level. For Liverpool, it was another reminder that one judgment can shape the entire feel of a match, especially when the next big moment arrives before the first one has even settled.
