Zenit St Petersburg striker Hulk will no longer take part in the World Cup qualifying draw.
The 28 year old decided to withdraw his services and will be replaced by Alexey Smertin. The draw takes place on Saturday and will determine the UEFA qualifying groups for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
One of the reasons why Hulk might have withdrawn is because of an argument with the Russian FA concerning racism. Recently Ufa FC player Emmanuel Frimpong was the subject of monkey chants from Spartak Moscow fans. The Russian FA has claimed there were no instances of racism which has caused outrage.
Hulk is one of the players that has spoken out on the incident and claims racism occurs ‘almost every game.’
