diff --git a/lib/gitlab/reference_extractor.rb b/lib/gitlab/reference_extractor.rb
index 2aef5b3010..d38b6fb512 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/reference_extractor.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/reference_extractor.rb
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ module Gitlab
     end
 
     def issues
-      if project.jira_tracker?
+      if project && project.jira_tracker?
         references[:external_issue]
       else
         references[:issue]