Manchester United said they were “considering their options” after they were dumped out of the Women’s League Cup despite initially qualifying for the quarter-finals.

On Monday Aston Villa were docked three points for fielding an ineligible player in a Continental Cup group stage game against Sunderland, with the FA saying an independent tribunal ordered the points deducted be awarded to Sunderland and the 7-0 scoreline deleted from the record.

That means Sunderland, who did not initially qualify for the last eight, go through as Group A winners while Villa drop to second in the group but qualify as one of two best-placed runners-up with Tottenham. United finished second in Group B but their record, having originally been better than Sunderland’s, is inferior to Villa’s on goal difference.

United put out a statement saying: “We feel that it undermines the integrity of the competition and of the women’s game. We are considering our options in response.”

Villa admitted the Swiss defender Noelle Maritz was ineligible for the game at Sunderland because she had played in the competition for her former club Arsenal.