Noel Bridge was sitting next to the fence at the Eagles game on Thursday night when Nic Natanui was wrestling Essendon's Zach Merrett into the boundary.

After Merrett pulled Natanui’s hair, for reasons still unexplained, Mr Bridge threw a cup of beer over the fence.

The beer appeared to be heading for Merrett but mostly splashed over a camera operator.

Mr Bridge, whose company acts as a deal maker between business and indigenous communities, was in an exclusive area of the stadium where patrons are so close to the arena they're almost part of the action.

Mr Bridge left soon after the beer throwing incident and the next day flew interstate to Adelaide where he now lives.

Mr Bridge is the youngest son of Ernie Bridge who held several government portfolios including Water Resources and Aboriginal Affairs during the 80's and 90's.

Ernie was equally well known as a country a western performer.

7News has spoken to a relative of Noel Bridge who said he understood the beer throwing happened in the heat of the moment.

The AFL security and integrity department is expected to consider the beer throwing incident tomorrow.

Without a good excuse Noel Bridge is likely to get an lengthy ban.

The last penalty handed down for a ‘pitch invasion’ was a three-year ban.