Olympic Champions Brazil Shocked 1-0 by Paraguay in 2024 Qualifier 

Football - South America Olympic Games Qualifiers - Brazil v Paraguay - Estadio Brigido Iriarte, Caracas - February 5, 2024 Paraguay's Leonardo Rivas celebrates after Fabrizio Peralta scores their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - South America Olympic Games Qualifiers - Brazil v Paraguay - Estadio Brigido Iriarte, Caracas - February 5, 2024 Paraguay's Leonardo Rivas celebrates after Fabrizio Peralta scores their first goal. (Reuters)
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Olympic Champions Brazil Shocked 1-0 by Paraguay in 2024 Qualifier 

Football - South America Olympic Games Qualifiers - Brazil v Paraguay - Estadio Brigido Iriarte, Caracas - February 5, 2024 Paraguay's Leonardo Rivas celebrates after Fabrizio Peralta scores their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - South America Olympic Games Qualifiers - Brazil v Paraguay - Estadio Brigido Iriarte, Caracas - February 5, 2024 Paraguay's Leonardo Rivas celebrates after Fabrizio Peralta scores their first goal. (Reuters)

Olympic champions Brazil suffered a setback in their bid to secure a place at this year's Paris Games after their under-23 team slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat by Paraguay on Monday in the final four South American qualifying tournament.

Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela are competing in a round robin final qualifying stage for the 2024 Games, with only the top two securing berths in Paris.

Fabrizio Peralta's header in the final seconds of the first half was enough to give Paraguay, who last competed at the Olympics in 2004, an unexpected victory.

Brazil's teenage prodigy Endrick, who will join Real Madrid later this year, squandered a chance to put the 2020 Tokyo Games gold medalists ahead when he missed a penalty after 29 minutes.

In a later qualifying game, a last-gasp penalty from substitute Kevin Kelsy snatched a 2-2 draw for Venezuela against Argentina.

Javier Mascherano's side finished the game with nine men after Valentin Barco and Gonzalo Lujan were sent off, while Venezuela's Bryant Ortega also received a red card.

Brazil will next face Venezuela, who beat them 3-1 in the preliminary stage earlier this month, on Thursday. Paraguay's next fixture will be against Argentina.

The qualifiers, being held in Caracas, wrap up on Feb. 11.



EU Top Court: Some FIFA Rules on Int’l Transfers Are Contrary to Bloc's Law

FILE - In this file photo dated Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, Paris-Saint-Germain player Lassana Diarra during a French League One soccer match against Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
FILE - In this file photo dated Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, Paris-Saint-Germain player Lassana Diarra during a French League One soccer match against Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
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EU Top Court: Some FIFA Rules on Int’l Transfers Are Contrary to Bloc's Law

FILE - In this file photo dated Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, Paris-Saint-Germain player Lassana Diarra during a French League One soccer match against Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
FILE - In this file photo dated Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, Paris-Saint-Germain player Lassana Diarra during a French League One soccer match against Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

The European Union's top court said Friday that some FIFA rules on player transfers can conflict with European Union legislation relating to competition and freedom of movement.
The court's ruling came after former France international Lassana Diarra legally challenged FIFA rules following a dispute with a club dating back to a decade ago, The Associated Press reported.
Diarra had signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2013. The deal was terminated a year later after Diarra was unhappy with alleged pay cuts.
Lokomotiv Moscow applied to the FIFA dispute resolution chamber for compensation and the player submitted a counterclaim seeking compensation for unpaid wages. The Court of Arbitration for Sport found the Russian club terminated the contract with Diarra “with just cause” and the player was ordered to pay 10.5 million euros ($11.2 million).
Diarra claimed his search for a new club was hampered by FIFA rules stipulating that any new side would be jointly responsible with him for paying compensation to Lokomotiv.
“The rules in question are such as to impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club,” the court said in a statement.
The former Real Madrid player also argued that a potential deal with Belgian club Charleroi fell through because of the FIFA rules, and sued FIFA and the Belgian federation at a Belgian court for damages and loss of earnings of six million euros ($7 million). With the lawsuit still going through Belgian courts, the case was referred to the European Court of Justice for a ruling.
The Diarra case, which is supported by the global players’ union FIFPro, went through FIFA judicial bodies before the 2016 election of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has made it a priority to modernize transfer market rules.