Sheffield United's remaining 10 games of the season could be governed by an important new law

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) had planned for the ‘T-Shirt Line’ ruling, which will be used to help referees differentiate between the arm and the shoulder, to be implemented at the start of next term.

But with the fixture calendar suspended indefinitely because of coronavirus, IFAB has confirmed member associations can choose to implement the change when matches restart instead.

"Competitions which have been suspended because of Covid-19 have the option of completing the competition using the Laws of the Game 2019-20 or adopting the Laws of the Game 2020-21,” the game’s law-making body, said "Friendly/practice/warm-up matches in preparation for the restart of the competition are permitted to use the version of the Laws that will be used when the competition restarts.”

United were seventh in the table when the campaign, which the PL has pledged to try and complete, was placed into lockdown.

The handball law previously stated that players would be punished if their arms extended "beyond a natural silhouette".

IFAB reviews that definition following claims it was impossible for match officials to decide where the shoulder finished and the arm started.

Patrick Nelson, chief executive of the Irish FA, explained at a recent IFAB meeting: "The shoulder itself doesn't really have an opportunity to make the body bigger whereas the arms do".