Hulk pulls out of World Cup draw after complaining of 'ugly racism' in Russia

FIFA said that Hulk will be replaced by former Russia captain Alexey Smertin as one of the draw assistants for Saturday's event in St Petersburg. Hulk has withdrawn due to club commitments, FIFA said in a statement.

Zenit are away to FC Ural on Sunday in a Russian Premier League match, although there have been no alterations to the fixture list since FIFA initially announced on Wednesday that Hulk would take part in the draw.

The World Cup's local organising committee said the decision was made purely on sporting grounds by Zenit coach Andre Villas-Boas.

"Very recently, we found out that the coach of Zenit made a decision based on purely sporting reasons to withdraw this player from taking part in the draw show," Chief Executive Alexey Sorokin told a news conference.

"I reiterate that this decision was purely of a sporting nature because Zenit has a game on Sunday in Yekaterinburg, so the coach decided the team need to leave together, not leaving anyone behind."

Other former players who will take part in Saturday's draw include Ronaldo, Diego Forlan, Fabio Cannavaro, Samuel Eto'o and Oliver Bierhoff.

Russia, hosts for the 2018 World Cup, have repeatedly been criticised for failure to tackle racism in domestic football.

Hulk had said he was honoured after being named as a draw participant on Wednesday.

"I'm happy," he said. "I am honored to participate in this ceremony, which will officially begin the path to the next World Cup. I have quite adapted to life in Russia, and my family really like St Petersburg."

"It (racism) happens at almost every match in Russia but the world does not hear about it because they try to keep it quiet," Hulk told reporters on Monday at a Zenit training session.

The problem was again brought under the spotlight when Ghanaian Emmanuel Frimpong said he was racially abused in a match at Spartak Moscow.

Frimpong, who plays for Ufa, was sent off, and later suspended for two league matches after raising a finger to fans who he said had made monkey chants.

On Wednesday, the Russian Football Union (RFU) rejected the racism allegations, a ruling Frimpong said was "beyond a joke".

Is Russia fit to host a World Cup finals? On the cusp of this qualifying draw, this is a question you have to ask after hearing the Zenit forward Hulk speak out against the ongoing racism he encounters on a weekly basis in the Russian league. But who is listening? And what will be done? Not much by FIFA it seems. The former Arsenal player Emmanuel Frimpong was subjected to monkey chants turning out for Ufa against Spartak Moscow last weekend. He gave the crowd the middle finger, and was sent off. Rather than rescind the red card, the Russian FA handed him a two-match ban. And Spartak went unpunished.

Christopher Samba was banned for two matches for giving fans the same treatment after he was racially abused turning out for Dynamo Moscow. So many black players have been subjected to this nonsense, and yet nothing is done. They threw bananas at Roberto Carlos in 2011. How depressing. The worst thing about all of this is that the former head of Russian football Vyacheslav Koloskov has refused to admit that there is a major problem with racism in Russia or Russian football.

How are they rewarded? With the world's most popular sports event. FIFA led by Sepp Blatter are a complete disgrace in handing Russia these finals when they knew this was a major disease in Russian society. Blatter is no longer fit for purpose. And probably never was. This is a man who apparently feels he can only travel to Russia because he fears being picked up by the FBI over an ongoing corruption investigation at his organisation. He is hardly going to help solve the issue having previously suggested on-pitch racism could be resolved with a handshake. What a buffoon.

Rampant racism and homophobia are hardened attitudes in that part of the world. If your face doesn't fit, you could find yourself on the end of serious grief in Russia. The Manchester City player Yaya Toure has previously suggested black players could boycott the finals after being subjected to similar abuse during a Champions League match in Moscow. It is a worthwhile idea that should be given serious consideration. Not just by black players, but every player.