Nicolas Jackson sent off for sickening tackle on rare start as Bayern Munich finish with nine men

Mar 14, 2026 - 18:00

Nicolas Jackson was shown a straight red card for a gruesome-looking challenge in Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

The Chelsea loanee was making just his seventh start of the season, as he took the place of Harry Kane for his side’s league trip to Leverkusen on Saturday.

Nicolas Jackson leaves the pitch after a red card — Jackson’s red card left Bayern a goal and a man down at half-time

This marked the second game in a row where Jackson was named in the starting XI, having also played 90 minutes in Bayern’s 6-1 win over Atalanta in the Champions League midweek.

But the Senegalese striker didn’t exactly help his case to feature more regularly.

Reckless

After Bayern, who also saw Luis Diaz sent off in the 84th minute, fell behind to an Aleix Garcia goal after just six minutes, their problems mounted on the stroke of half-time.

In the 41st minute, Jackson flew into a reckless challenge on Leverkusen forward Martin Terrier.

With his studs raised, the 24-year-old came down hard on Terrier’s ankle, appearing to twist his foot.

Images of the tackle showed Terrier’s ankle completely rolling under the weight of Jackson’s lunge from behind.

This left the Frenchman on the floor in agony, with Jackson bizarrely only being shown a yellow card at first.

Unsurprisingly, the horror challenge was recommended for review, with VAR urging referee Christian Dingert to take another look.

Slow motion replays didn’t help Jackson’s case, and he was quickly shown a red card to bring his afternoon to an early end.

And while Terrier was able to get back on his feet and complete the first-half, he was then withdrawn at the interval and replaced by Ibrahim Maza.

Nicolas Jackson's red card tackle against Bayer Leverkusen

Images show the impact of Jackson’s heavy challenge on Terrier[/caption]

Nicolas Jackson receives a red card for Bayern Munich against Bayer Leverkusen — Jackson saw his yellow card upgraded to red after a VAR review

Seeing red

Footage of Jackson’s red card tackle quickly circulated online, with many fans expressing their shock.

Reacting to the challenge, one user wrote: “This is a career-ending tackle from Jackson. He can do better.”

Another chimed in: “That’s a horrible tackle from Jackson. What’s he thinking?!”

A third pointed out that Jackson had squandered a rare start, commenting: “Wow. What a way to ruin your first big chance.”

With the straight red landing him a one-match suspension, the striker will have to wait until April 4 for his next chance to feature in the Bundesliga, with the international break coming at the end of March.

But with the ban only applying to league matches, Jackson will still be eligible to play for Bayern in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie with Atalanta on Wednesday.

Harry Kane after his goal was disallowed against Bayer Leverkusen — Kane thought he had netted his 31st goal of the Bundesliga season, only for it to be ruled out

Luis Diaz goes down inside the Bayer Leverkusen penalty area — Luis Diaz became the second player to be sent off in the final ten minutes

Luis Diaz receives a red card against Bayer Leverkusen — He was judged to have dived and was shown a second yellow card

How did the match end?

With Jackson receiving his marching orders, it wasn’t long before talisman Kane was called upon to try and save the day.

The England skipper was brought on in the 61st minute, and looked to have made an instant impact when he found the net within just 15 seconds of his introduction.

But Kane’s joy was short-lived, as a VAR check found him to have handled the ball in the build-up, with his goal chalked off.

It wasn’t long before Bayern did find their equaliser, with former Liverpool man Luis Diaz slotting home after being played through by Michael Olise.

With the Bavarians chasing a win, they were dealt a further blow when Diaz was shown a second yellow card in the 84th minute for simulation.