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1.01.2023Bayer 04

History: The first red card for Bayer 04 in the Bundesliga

It’s matchday 19 in the 1982/83 season. Eintracht Frankfurt visit the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on 29 January 1983 complete with lightning fast South Korean forward Bum-kun Cha. His is up against central back Frank Saborowski, signed from MSV Duisburg at the start of the season, and the Leverkusen defender has problems from the start with the striker as well as stomach cramps.

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The blond defender doubles up again and again but he plays on. He then justifiably receives a yellow card for a bad foul. Just like today, a second yellow card produced a red card back then. But in 1983 in this case, the second transgression resulted in a red card rather than another yellow. With the scores level at 1-1 – Arne-Larsen Ökland scored for Bayer 04 and Bum-kun Cha for Frankfurt – Eintracht launched a counter attack on 38 minutes. Saborowski can only hold on to his opponent and thereby takes his place in the history of Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The referee from Bremen, Hans-Joachim Osmers, shows him the red card and he becomes the first Bayer 04 player to be sent off in a Bundesliga match.

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