Kane was shown his fifth yellow card of the season during Bayern's 3-0 win at home over Mainz, meaning the England captain will be suspended for Bayern's next match at Leipzig — where Bayern will likely win their 34th German league title.
Kane has famously failed to win any major trophy in a career of individual awards and runner-up medals. Now, cruelly, the first looks set to come while he's watching from the stands.
Bayern needed a win over Mainz and a favour from Augsburg against Leverkusen to be crowned champion on Saturday, but goals from Patrik Schick and Emiliano Buendia gave Leverkusen a 2-0 win to keep the defending champion eight points behind Bayern with three rounds remaining.
So, Leverkusen can still theoretically defend their first ever Bundesliga title by winning their last three games if Bayern lose their final three, but even a draw against Leipzig next weekend should be enough for Bayern, who have a far superior goal difference.
Bayern needed patience against Mainz, with Leroy Sane opening the scoring in the 27th followed by Michael Elise in the 40th.
There was still time before the break for Kane to get booked for failing to release the ball after committing a foul.
Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig denied Nadiem Amiri a Mainz response before Sane hit the post at the other end. Eric Dier sealed the result late with a header from Olise's corner, seconds after Thomas Muller went on for his 500th Bundesliga appearance.
Waldemar Anton scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Borussia Dortmund a 3-2 win at Hoffenheim, but the result was marred by arguments because the home goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was struck in the head by Carney Chukwuemeka's knee before Anton scored.
Referee Benjamin Brand allowed the goal after a VAR check found it was an accidental clash.
The win lifted Dortmund to sixth, three points behind Freiburg in fourth. Freiburg moved into the last place for Champions League qualification with a 1-0 win at Wolfsburg, who had captain Maximilian Arnold sent off for a bad foul in the first half.
There was also stoppage-time drama in Kiel, where Japanese forward Shuto Machino scored his second goal in stoppage time to give Holstein Kiel a 4-3 win over Borussia Monchengladbach.
Gladbach came from 2-0 down and again to level the score at 3-3 before Machino's late winner.
It lifted Kiel off the bottom, three points behind Heidenheim in the relegation play-off place.
