MLS: Mouse stops play in Vancouver Whitecaps v Austin game

Vancouver Whitecaps striker Brian White scored four goals in a 5-1 victory over rivals Austin in the MLS on Saturday… only to be upstaged by the world’s smallest pitch invader.

A surprise appearance by a mouse stole the spotlight at BC Place in Vancouver, with play stopped while players and staff attempted to catch it.

It scurried across the halfway line in the seventh minute as Austin prepared to take a corner, prompting the referee to pause the action.

Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver eventually assumed the role of part-time pest control, using his gloves to scoop up the miniature intruder before gently escorting it off the field.

Stuver received a warm round of applause from supporters, but spent much of the rest of the game picking the ball out of his own net as the Whitecaps tightened their grip at the top of the Western Conference.

They are four points clear of Minnesota United and are through to the Concacaf Champions Cup semi-finals, where they take on Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on April 30.