diff --git a/synapse/logging/opentracing.py b/synapse/logging/opentracing.py
index 256b972aaa..357c9f0a69 100644
--- a/synapse/logging/opentracing.py
+++ b/synapse/logging/opentracing.py
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ def whitelisted_homeserver(destination):
     Args:
         destination (str)
         """
-    _homeserver_whitelist
+
     if _homeserver_whitelist:
         return _homeserver_whitelist.match(destination)
     return False