The NRL legal team has begun interviewing its own staff members after a senior employee was accused of secretly recording a meeting with players amid a bitter pay dispute between the game’s stars and its governing body.

The internal investigation was launched on Tuesday as the Herald and The Age revealed a member of the NRL executive team had been seen allegedly recording conversations at last Friday’s annual Leaders in League conference, where NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo held talks with about 60 players.

The matter was raised in an email from Rugby League Players Association chief Deidre Anderson to Australian Rugby League chairman Peter V’landys and his board, accusing an NRL executive of “covertly recording the session”. The Herald and The Age have chosen not to name the executive for legal reasons.

Sources with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect the integrity of the investigation told the Herald and The Age that Abdo had been unaware of the alleged recording until after he had finished a question-and-answer session with the players.

The sources said the person who allegedly made the recording was acting on the instruction of another NRL executive. The sources added that the second executive had requested audio be taken only of Abdo’s speech.

In her email, which has been seen by the Herald and The Age, Anderson detailed how the RLPA had been surprised when an uninvited NRL employee had arrived at the conference without warning.

“Upon arrival, Andrew [Abdo] was accompanied by [an NRL employee] … this was disappointing given [the employee] was not invited, nor had Andrew given any forewarning that [the employee] would be attending,” Anderson said in the email.

“Nevertheless, RLPA management (with the consent of player leaders), allowed (the employee) to sit in on Andrew’s discussion out of respect for [their] role ... To ensure an open and honest environment for Andrew and the players, no filming or recording of this session was permitted and no media representatives were present.

“What then followed is nothing short of illegal which, on its face, seriously calls into question the integrity of the NRL, its executive and its culture. I am instructed that a player (who I will not name), raised concerns with RLPA staff that (the employee) was covertly recording the session on [their] phone. The player raised the concern based on their understanding that attendees were not permitted to record these discussions.