Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson has resigned from the SPFL board over what he feels is an unjust punishment over the club fielding ineligible players.

United were docked three points, fined £30,000 and censured for including two players in their squad who faced Inverness last week, despite neither being eligible to play.

In a statement on the club website, a spokesperson said: "Chairman Stephen Thompson has resigned from his position on the SPFL board with immediate effect.

"He has expressed his shock and anger at the severity of the sanction imposed by the SPFL in relation to a rule breach in our recent Ladbrokes Premiership fixture versus Inverness Caley Thistle.

"Whilst acknowledging the club's error and accepting a breach of rules occurred, the chairman feels the gravity of the punishment is wholly disproportionate for what was a simple honest, human error.

"We await the full written judgment after which we will consider our next action.

"Our travelling fans are the ones who have been punished the most here and the club will examine ways to make this up to them."

Following United's relegation from the Premiership, Thompson would have been required to step down from the SPFL board and seek re-election as a Championship representative to be a board member at the league next season.