Alexey Smertin will replace Brazilian forward Hulk as a VIP guest in the FIFA 2018 World Cup Preliminary Draw that will be taking place in Konstantin Palace in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.

      Earlier, Russia-IC reported that FC Zenit St Petersburg coach Andre Villas-Boas did not allow Hulk to take part in the ceremony ahead of the season’s second match against current table leader FC Ural on Sunday.

      The FIFA 2018 World Cup Preliminary Draw is expected to be watched by 95 million people across 170 countries, according to the organizers.

      Hulk was supposed to be on the lineup of VIP guests like Ronaldo, Fabio Cannavaro, Alexander Kerzhakov, Rinat Dasaev, Oliver Bierhoff, Diego Forlan, and Samuel Eto’o.

      They will help the FIFA Secretary General, Jérôme Valcke, in deciding the fates of teams from five of the six confederations participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. “This team will also be joined by the captain of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup winning team – Predrag Rajkovic, from Serbia – and by the captain of the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup,” says a press release on FIFA’s website.