Pictured: Vinnie Jones's battered face as he faces a year in jail over U.S. bar brawl

Pictured: Vinnie Jones's battered face as he faces a year in jail over U.S. bar brawl

By David Gardner

Last updated at 8:31 AM on 08th December 2008

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Vinnie Jones could face up to a year in jail following his arrest in the U.S. for punching a man in the face during a bar bawl.

The football hardman-turned-actor lashed out after being glassed by a drinker in Sioux Falls, South Dakota..

The ex-Wimbledon defender was accused of startting the fight while on a pheasant hunting trip.

Enlarge Bandaged: Vinnie Jones in his mug shot after the attack

Vinnie Jones on the dance floor at Wiley's Tavern 20 minutes before the brawl

A police spokesman said Jones apparently charged at a customer at Wiley’s Tavern after a dispute over a game of pool and the man hit him with a glass.

‘It was a verbal argument that escalated to pushing and shoving and then a bar brawl,’ he added.

Juan Barrera said Jones was offended after someone called him ‘that guy from X-Men’ after he asked to join their pool game.

Jones starred in ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’, ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, ‘Snatch’ and ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds’ after retiring from football to launch a successful Hollywood career.

Barrera said he was punched by Jones and countered with one or two of his own.

‘He got offended by that, and he started pushing my other friends around. He said he's been in so many other movies or whatever,’ said Barrera.

Hardman: Jones in typical pose in the film 'The Condemned'

Police in Sioux Fallls said Jones was treated at a local hospital last Thursday night and then he was charged with simple assault, which carries a maximum one-year jail sentence.

He posted bail on Friday morning and was released.

Jesse Bickett, the customer who hit Jones with a glass, was charged with aggravated assault. His mother, Deb, said her son needed hospital treatment for his injuries.

‘He doesn’t want to run into me,’ she said of Jones.

Jones’ manager, Alex Cole, said the actor was on holiday, but had no other details.

During his playing career, Jones earned a reputation for being one of the British game's hardest men.

He captained the Welsh football team and also played for Wimbledon, Chelsea and Leeds and was player-coach at Queens Park Rangers before turning to acting.