Why Harry Kane could be denied title-winning moment by Bundesliga rule | OneFootball

Harry Kane could be denied his long-awaited first title-winning moment as the Bayern Munich striker is suspended for Saturday’s Bundesliga game against RB Leipzig.

Bayern will reclaim the Bundesliga title from Bayer Leverkusen if they defeat Leipzig away from home on Saturday afternoon, a result that would give the 31-year-old Kane the first trophy of his professional career.

The England captain’s goals have helped fire Bayern to the brink of the title - with 24 league goals this season - but he will miss out on Saturday after picking up his fifth booking of the season in last weekend’s 3-0 win against Mainz.

In the Bundesliga, players receive a one-game suspension if they accumulate five yellow cards over a season. The rule exists in the Premier League, too, but the threshold for a ban is raised to 10 yellow cards in the second half of the season.

Kane described his yellow card against Mainz as a “crazy, crazy decision” but said the suspension would not stop him from enjoying the first trophy of his career if Bayern win the title this weekend.

“It’s kind of my story that I’ll miss the Leipzig game,” Kane said. “But no worries, I’ll celebrate more than anyone else.”

Bayern manager Vincent Kompany agreed that Kane potentially missing the title-winning game would not detract from the end of his trophy curse.

“Every title you have to celebrate it like it’s your first so I don’t think it will make much of a difference for Harry,” he said. “It doesn’t take away a single per cent of his contribution this season.”

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Kane is set to win back-to-back Golden Boots in the Bundesliga (Getty Images)

Kane has suffered a series of heartbreaking near-misses in major finals in his career, including back-to-back defeats in European Championship finals with England in 2021 and 2024 and in the 2019 Champions League final with his former club Tottenham Hotspur.

He moved to German giants Bayern in the summer of 2023, only for Bayer Leverkusen to end their streak of 11 Bundesliga titles in a row last season, in what was Bayern’s first trophyless season in 11 years.

Kane’s record in Bayern’s triumph has been remarkable, scoring 24 goals in 29 games. He is set to win the Golden Boot for a second consecutive season, after scoring 36 last campaign, and in November he broke the record for the fastest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, requiring just 43 games to reach the half-century.