Baby pitch invader interrupts MLS game - and it's not a league-first

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/minnesota-united/zXFxsw2a/"]Minnesota United[/a]'s [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/minnesota-united-zXFxsw2a/san-jose-earthquakes-x05z14ue/?mid=f3m5zKt2"]5-1 rout[/a][/b] of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-jose-earthquakes/x05z14ue/"]San Jose Earthquakes[/a] at PayPal Park in San Jose, California was hilariously and briefly halted during stoppage time after a young child managed to wander onto the field of play. [/p][p]The game was meandering towards a quiet conclusion after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gonzalez-mauricio/rudabZHH/"]Mauricio Gonzalez[/a] put the visitors four goals up when, for at least the third time this decade in the competition, a small child ran from the sidelines onto the pitch. [/p][p]Sources familiar with the incident believe the child was a family member of one of the players, goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gunn-angus/zaREt4aJ/"]Angus Gunn[/a], which explains how they were able to get sideline access. [/p][p]The child was safely scooped up and transferred off the field, with Minnesota manager Cameron Knowles joking after the match that "[b]it’s a little bit too early[/b] (for the child)[b] to get a lifetime ban from a stadium[/b]".[/p][embed guid="82f486e4-51d8-4ae4-8204-d1562f0156c7" url="https://x.com/cjzero/status/2091387243080327290" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]That's way better than the raccoon,[/b]" a television commentator quipped at the time, in reference to a 2024 game between [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/philadelphia-union/Szrwix67/"]Philadelphia Union[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-city/vZraQYnO/"]New York City[/a] that was stopped by a raccoon.[/p][p]The raccoon evaded attempts by several people on the pitch to be captured before eventually being detained by a trash can - the natural habitat of the species in New York City, as some would have you believe. [/p][embed guid="76e12d43-c4e0-4b55-80f4-a3def659518a" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg6sA-Z_yo4" social-type="youtube" /][p]Whilst it might seem like a unique interruption to many, it was not the first instance of a child managing to find their way onto the pitch during a MLS match. [/p][p]A two-year-old boy wandered onto the field of play during a 2021 match between [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fc-cincinnati/8btog05R/"]Cincinnati[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/orlando-city/rsHkUNCo/"]Orlando City[/a], four years before another toddler almost got involved in a second-half throw-in at a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/dc-united/O6hjfSXE/"]DC United[/a] home game. [/p][p]It has prompted some to call for the MLS to instigate greater security measures to prevent further instances of minors being able to access the field of play during a match. [/p][embed guid="6fdd8e83-e031-4cdc-9bfe-b1230342110b" url="https://x.com/MLS/status/1931516412675100799" social-type="twitter" /][infobox id="d39bc573-b9dd-4b87-acb9-2de1f22d36c7" /]