Johnny Rotten revelled in his days as a football hooligan.

The Sex Pistols frontman and die-hard Arsenal supporter - whose real name is John Lydon - has claimed the police were "murderous" when fending off angry football fans at riots that broke out at games back in the day, but the 64-year-old punk rocker loved the "thrill" of it all.

He recalled: "A football match was the right occasion for letting go of all of that anger and aggression because even the biggest riots were over in minutes.

"It’s frightening when it all kicks off. But usually the people to fear the most were the police themselves, especially in those early days.

"The police were steel-toe-capped, hobnailed, f****** cruel bully f******. In any ground, anywhere. And everybody knew it. The police were murderous."

"Some of them were in police firms.

"They’d know all the local lads in the grounds where they were particularly fond of abusing their power and they’d make beelines for it.

"People would get a clip, they’d think it was a laugh. 'Look, I got a black eye.' But then it would be onto the next.

"People would make themselves feel like a little bit of a hero, but there was no real damage.

"The general point and purpose was the thrill of it all."

The 'God Save the Queen' hitmaker admitted that these days the fans just "act like Jack the Lad".

He continued: "Some of the fans go to football games now and they act like Jack the Lad.

"They are just loudmouths and being a loudmouth wasn’t where it was at."

Johnny, who suffered "a few beatings" at games, insisted it wasn't anything like the knife crime that is so prevalent across the UK today.

He added in a limited edition hard copy of his new tome, 'I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right': "There was real edge, real danger.

"Bloody hell, yeah. But it wasn’t like the knifings that it’s degenerated into.

"It would be proper bloody hidings though, eugh. I got it a few times. Everybody got some beatings."

Meanwhile, it was just announced that Danny Boyle is to direct a Sex Pistols biopic.

Toby Wallace has been confirmed to play Steve Jones whilst Anson Boon will play John Lydon. Louis Partridge has been cast as Sid Vicious, Fabien Frankel as Glen Matlock and Dylan Llewellyn as Wally Nightingale. 'Game of Thrones' star Maisie Williams will play punk icon Jordan whilst Sydney Chandler stars as Chrissie Hynde and Emma Appleton as Nancy Spungen.