diff --git a/libavcodec/h264.c b/libavcodec/h264.c
index c4853253e5..c53799dfec 100644
--- a/libavcodec/h264.c
+++ b/libavcodec/h264.c
@@ -3109,7 +3109,6 @@ static int decode_slice_header(H264Context *h, H264Context *h0){
 
         } else {
             /* Frame or first field in a potentially complementary pair */
-            assert(!s0->current_picture_ptr);
             s0->first_field = FIELD_PICTURE;
         }