Not long after the UEFA verdict was confirmed this morning, an SFA employee phoned the Tannadice club to tell them United would be bumped up from the qualifying round.

The same statement was communicated to the Press Association by SFA head of communications Andy Mitchell.

But it turned out that an error had been made by the unnamed SFA employee in reading UEFA’s UEFA Cup access list for the 2005-06 season.

Mitchell told The Press Association: “We have apologised to Dundee United and their fans for misleading them. It was a simple human error.

“The good news however is that one of our clubs does still benefit from this. Hibernian move up into the first round.”

The bizarre chain of events were roundly condemned by United, who demanded, and received, an apology.

A club spokesman fumed: “To put it mildly, this is something of a shambles and an embarrassment and Dundee United are not amused that this has happened.

“We accept that rules are rules but did expect that the advice of the governing body would be based on a full and intimate knowledge of the rules.”

Liverpool had finished fifth in the Premiership and as a result would have competed in the UEFA Cup had they not been given today’s special dispensation.

And as Scotland was the nation with the highest UEFA ranking co-efficient without a club in the UEFA Cup first round they were told that one of their clubs would be promoted.

The access list indicated that the place would be given to the club that qualified through the Tennent’s Scottish Cup, which is given preference to the slot gained by finishing third in the Bank of Scotland Premier League.

That, however, is not the case, when the cup slot is represented by a beaten finalist – and United had lost 1-0 to Celtic at Hampden Park last month.

The error was confirmed by checking with UEFA’s tournament rules and Mitchell was faced with the task of apologising for the error of the colleague, who is understood to work in a different department.

The mistake was compounded by the unfortunate coincidence that United had already invited the media to attend the signing of striker Lee Miller from Bristol City.

The incorrect information was relayed there but was not rectified until later in the day.

The United spokesman continued: “In two separate phone calls from the SFA, the club was informed that the information was 100% correct and that it could be communicated publicly. At the request of the club a fax was also sent and received.”

Now United will learn on July 29 the identity of the team that will stand in their way of the first round and then play that team home and away on August 11 and August 25.

Hibs will play their first game on September 15, having learned on August 26 who they are to play.

The qualifier will be United’s first European adventure since 1997.