Tabcorp’s disgraced ex-boss Adam Rytenskild has told the Fair Work Commission he was forced into resigning by the wagering company in March for allegedly making vulgar comments towards a female regulatory official eight months earlier.

Rytenskild launched unfair dismissal proceedings against Tabcorp at the Fair Work Commission last week. In cross-examination on Wednesday, Rytenskild said he was ambushed by company chair Bruce Akhurst, and directors Raelene Murphy and David Gallop, who told him that an external review had substantiated a whistleblower complaint on the alleged comments.

Tabcorp’s board engaged a law firm to conduct the review after it received a complaint referring to alleged comments by Rytenskild that referred to performing a sexual act on the chief executive of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, Annette Kimmitt, if Tabcorp secured a 20-year extension to the Victorian wagering licence.

Rytenskild said he resigned, “in a panic” on March 14 because the board had made it clear that he had no other option other than being sacked, irrespective of his denials of the alleged comments.

“I denied it in three ways. I said I didn’t say it. I said I don’t recall it … And I said I don’t use language like that so why would I have suddenly chosen to,” Rytenskild told the tribunal’s deputy president, Gerard Boyce.

He added that his requests for more time so that he may consult a lawyer were denied.

Tabcorp’s barrister, Vanja Bulut, argued that Rytenskild could not have been unfairly dismissed given he requested to resign of his own volition. She also said Akhurst had provided context that termination was the likely outcome given the nature of the allegations. She also pointed out that Rytenskild had waited until the very last moment to lodge his claim against Tabcorp.

Rytenskild, who had 24 years at Tabcorp, was paid out for a six-month notice period following his resignation in March, which amounted to $750,000, half his base salary of $1.5 million. He forfeited between $5 million and $10 million in unvested shares and options. He has also foregone bonuses that could have doubled his earnings to $3 million a year.

Rytenskild told the court that the law firm carrying out the review did not interview him about the alleged incident, adding he first found out about the allegation on the morning of the day he was forced to quit.