diff --git a/receive-pack.c b/receive-pack.c
index d3c422be58..1521d0b2de 100644
--- a/receive-pack.c
+++ b/receive-pack.c
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ static const char *update(struct command *cmd)
 	struct ref_lock *lock;
 
 	if (!prefixcmp(name, "refs/") && check_ref_format(name + 5)) {
-		error("refusing to create funny ref '%s' locally", name);
+		error("refusing to create funny ref '%s' remotely", name);
 		return "funny refname";
 	}