Harry Kane and Bayern Munich teammates taken off pitch after protest and instantly concede goal in damaging defeat

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Bayern Munich's 3-2 defeat at VfL Bochum was temporarily halted on TWO occasions due to fans throwing tennis balls onto the pitch.

Just shy of the half-hour mark, the referee ordered both teams off the pitch after numerous balls were thrown on by fans, who were protesting against planned private investment in the Bundesliga.

A series of tennis balls were thrown onto the Vonovia Ruhrstadion pitch, halting play

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A series of tennis balls were thrown onto the Vonovia Ruhrstadion pitch, halting playCredit: Sky Sports

Approximately five minutes later play resumed with the German champions 1-0 up thanks to Jamal Musiala's emphatic finish.

But a short time after play restarted as former Arsenal player Takuma Asano equalised for the home side.

Bochum then turned the game on its head on 43 minutes when Keven Schlotterbeck headed them in front in a first half which saw Kane miss a huge chance when Bayern were 1-0 up, while 14 minutes were added on at the end.

The match was then halted for a second time after the half time break with more tennis balls being thrown onto the pitch.

On this occasion the referee ordered both teams to come off the pitch and go down the tunnel while the pitch was cleared again.

Play was resumed once again as Bayern suffered a damaging defeat in their pursuit of a 12th straight league title with a penalty by Kevin Stoger, which resulted in substitute Dayot Upamecano receiving his second yellow card, putting Bochum 3-1 up.

Kane scored just before stoppage time to set up a grandstand finish but then missed another huge opportunity as Bayern left the match empty-handed and eight points off Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who beat Heidenheim 2-1 on Saturday.

It was a poor performance by Thomas Tuchel's men, although there's no denying the first protest changed the momentum of the game.

Bayern were a goal up and cruising before the protest

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Bayern were a goal up and cruising before the protestCredit: AFP

Similar protests have been happening at other Bundesliga matches this weekend with chocolate and sweets among the objects also being thrown onto pitches.

Fans across the country have been unhappy for months over a planned sale of a stake in the Bundesliga's media rights company to an outside investor and have been protesting for weeks.

Raphael Honigstein reveals Thomas Tuchel and Harry Kane are under pressure at Bayern Munich following their Bundesliga loss to Bayer Leverkusen

In four of five Saturday's matches protests interrupted play with the referees in both the Hoffenheim vs Union Berlin and Mainz vs Augsburg matches briefly sending the teams to the changing rooms.

Play resumed in both stadiums while the Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund clash was repeatedly stopped to allow stadium staff to clear the pitch.

In December, Germany's first and second tier clubs voted in favour of letting a financial investor take a stake of the German Football League's (DFL) media arm in a deal estimated to be worth €900million and €1billion.

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