diff --git a/pkg/api/validation/validation.go b/pkg/api/validation/validation.go
index 8566d8012c1..5e64bb80a0c 100644
--- a/pkg/api/validation/validation.go
+++ b/pkg/api/validation/validation.go
@@ -559,7 +559,7 @@ func ValidateBoundPod(pod *api.BoundPod) errs.ValidationErrorList {
 	} else if !util.IsDNSSubdomain(pod.Name) {
 		allErrs = append(allErrs, errs.NewFieldInvalid("name", pod.Name, ""))
 	}
-	if len(pod.Name) == 0 {
+	if len(pod.Namespace) == 0 {
 		allErrs = append(allErrs, errs.NewFieldRequired("namespace", pod.Namespace))
 	} else if !util.IsDNSSubdomain(pod.Namespace) {
 		allErrs = append(allErrs, errs.NewFieldInvalid("namespace", pod.Namespace, ""))