Andre Villas-Boas believes the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be a success

Andre Villas-Boas has told Sky News that criticism of Russia over racism and political issues is "unfair" and that the 2018 World Cup will be "a wonderful event".

After troubled spells at Chelsea and Tottenham, Villas-Boas is rehabilitating his reputation in Russia's second city St Petersburg. He joined Zenit in 2013 and coached the Gazprom-owned club to the Premier League title in his first season.

St Petersburg hosts the 2018 World Cup draw this weekend, and speaking after his side won their opening game of the new season, Villas-Boas said he is impressed by preparations for the tournament.

Zenit St Petersburg Head Coach Andre Villas-Boas thinks racism in football is society's problem, not just sport. Zenit St Petersburg Head Coach Andre Villas-Boas thinks racism in football is society's problem, not just sport.

"I think there are big conditions for the World Cup, because there are big investments, there are good stadiums, there are and there will be magnificent stadiums," he said.

Racism has been a recurring problem for Russian football, with a disturbing incident in the opening round of league games when former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong was sent off playing for Ufa after reacting to alleged monkey chants from Spartak Moscow fans.

Frimpong has been banned for two games but Spartak were not sanctioned, a situation he described as "beyond a joke". Zenit's record-signing and first black player Hulk, who will take part in the World Cup draw, has said he encounters racism "almost every week".

Monitoring group FARE criticised the lack of action, saying the Russian authorities are "blind to racism" and calling for concerted action ahead of the World Cup.

Villas-Boas acknowledged that there are problems, but said they were not worse than he had seen in other countries, including England.

"Obviously, there are occasional episodes with violence and racism, but I have seen the same in England, to the same extent. So I don't see that it's a problem," he said.

Obviously, there are occasional episodes with violence and racism, but I have seen the same in England, to the same extent. So I don't see that it's a problem Andre Villas-Boas

"I think at the moment because of the political situation, surrounding Russia, it's a stamp that people are trying to attach to this World Cup. In my opinion, it's a bit unfair at the moment.

"I think it's not different to any other country. The World Cup has gone through South Africa, through Brazil, these countries have problems with violence, they have been wonderfully organised these World Cups.

"At least from my small experience in this country I had no problems whatsoever, the experiences that I have gone through, I have gone through in other countries too."

Villas-Boas declined to comment on the political context of the World Cup, which has seen criticism of Russia hosting while it is engaged in conflict with Ukraine on its western border.

Emmanuel Frimpong was was sent off after reacting to alleged monkey chants

The FIFA bidding process that saw Russia and Qatar awarded the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is also under investigation by the Swiss police.

"There is a political situation that is ongoing and there is ongoing pressure for the situation to change, for the World Cup to change," he said. "I am not in the position to comment on this as I am not a political leader and neither can I have a valid opinion in this situation. What I see is that the stadiums are good, the infrastructure is good."

One issue that does concern Villas-Boas is the Russian government policy of restricting clubs to selecting no more than five foreign players in any team.

Sports minister Vitaly Mutko believes the policy will improve the national team ahead of the World Cup, but Villas-Boas believes it is anti-competitive and will hold back.