diff --git a/src/refspec.c b/src/refspec.c
index a56c44cc0..ad8141248 100644
--- a/src/refspec.c
+++ b/src/refspec.c
@@ -133,6 +133,9 @@ int git_refspec__parse(git_refspec *refspec, const char *input, bool is_fetch)
 	return 0;
 
  invalid:
+        giterr_set(
+                GITERR_INVALID,
+                "'%s' is not a valid refspec.", input);
 	return -1;
 }