diff --git a/remote.c b/remote.c
index 105668f8a3..7688f3b04d 100644
--- a/remote.c
+++ b/remote.c
@@ -342,13 +342,14 @@ static int handle_config(const char *key, const char *value, void *cb)
 	if (prefixcmp(key,  "remote."))
 		return 0;
 	name = key + 7;
+	if (*name == '/') {
+		warning("Config remote shorthand cannot begin with '/': %s",
+			name);
+		return 0;
+	}
 	subkey = strrchr(name, '.');
 	if (!subkey)
 		return error("Config with no key for remote %s", name);
-	if (*subkey == '/') {
-		warning("Config remote shorthand cannot begin with '/': %s", name);
-		return 0;
-	}
 	remote = make_remote(name, subkey - name);
 	if (!strcmp(subkey, ".mirror"))
 		remote->mirror = git_config_bool(key, value);