diff --git a/src/Helpers/Validations.cs b/src/Helpers/Validations.cs
index 3fb2deb2..5a1b7d36 100644
--- a/src/Helpers/Validations.cs
+++ b/src/Helpers/Validations.cs
@@ -130,9 +130,11 @@ namespace SourceGit.Helpers {
     /// </summary>
     public class SubmodulePathRequiredRule : ValidationRule {
         public override ValidationResult Validate(object value, CultureInfo cultureInfo) {
-            var regex = new Regex(@"^[\w\-\._/]+$");
             var path = value as string;
-            var succ = !string.IsNullOrEmpty(path) && regex.IsMatch(path.Trim());
+            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(path)) return ValidationResult.ValidResult;
+
+            var regex = new Regex(@"^[\w\-\._/]+$");
+            var succ = regex.IsMatch(path.Trim());
             return !succ ? new ValidationResult(false, App.Text("BadSubmodulePath")) : ValidationResult.ValidResult;
         }
     }