A toddler interrupted a Major League Soccer match between Minnesota United and San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday by invading the pitch – a bizarre scene punctuated by an on-air analyst saying, “There’s a baby on the field.”
With a minute and a half to play in the game that Minnesota won ۵-۱ at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, the small child took to the field – and the referee blew his whistle to stop play.
The toddler appeared to be enjoying the freedom before being scooped up by a stadium official and handed over to a woman, presumably the toddler’s mother.
“Oh!” There’s a baby on the field,” Apple TV analyst Kyndra de St Aubin could be heard saying in astonishment on the broadcast.
Game commentators recalled previous pitch invasions – including when a raccoon stopped play in May ۲۰۲۴.
Later dubbed “Raquinho”, the creature mounted a pitch invasion before being caught in a trash can.
The effort to catch the raccoon took four men during a game between New York City FC and the Philadelphia Union.
“We need to find him a ball because he’s moving very well in the center of midfield,” Apple TV commentator Callum Williams said at the time. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite as bizarre as this, particularly given the amount of time he’s remained on the field.”
A commentator at Saturday’s game at PayPal Park said, “That’s way better than the racoon” – and noted that the baby was “on the edge of the ۱۸[-yard box].”
Minnesota manager Cameron Knowles later said: “You could hear the noise and then you’re looking to see what it is.
“I thought, ‘Man, it’s a little too early to get a lifetime ban from a stadium.’”
According to the New York Times’ The Athletic, Saturday was the third time since ۲۰۲۱ that a child has invaded the pitch during a match.
In June ۲۰۲۵, during a match between DC United and the Chicago Fire, a baby made it on the pitch before being scooped up by security.
A mom in Ohio in ۲۰۲۱ raced on to the pitch to collect her ۲-year-old son from the pitch of a game between FC Cincinnati and Orlando City FC.
After Saturday’s pitch invasion, Minnesota United’s X account posted that its decisive win over San Jose was “Like taking money from a baby.”
