Samuel L. Jackson has revealed he was once involved in a brawl with a group of football hooligans while riding on the Tube in London.

The 66-year-old actor has revealed he punched ''three or four'' soccer supporters during a clash with a group on the Tube in London in the 1980s - during which time he lived in the city - when they mistakenly thought the Hollywood star was a fan of a rival team. He said: ''I used to run into those guys [football hooligans] on the train on Saturdays.

''The only fight I ever had in London was on a train with some of those guys. ''Me and my friend were on the train - just two black guys sitting there - next to this drunk guy who was f***ing passed out. ''These other guys get on, and I guess the drunk guy must have had the wrong colour scarf on, because they grab him and start kicking his ass.

''Then they looked at me and my friend, like, 'You don't like it? We'll f**k you up, too!' My friend's like, 'Man, we're from f***ing New York,' and they go, 'Oh, you're Americans? We're sorry, we're sorry.' ''It was all about football, see, and we didn't have any team allegiance. We did punch three or four of them, though.''

The 'Kingsman' star and his pal were fortunately not hurt during the incident and he was shocked to receive an apology from the group. He added to Shortlist magazine: ''All you guys are so proper. You have manners. You beg people's pardon. ''You say, 'I'm sorry,' a lot more than the majority of people in this world.''