diff --git a/gst/schedulers/gstoptimalscheduler.c b/gst/schedulers/gstoptimalscheduler.c
index 1e9f95c840..911829bc61 100644
--- a/gst/schedulers/gstoptimalscheduler.c
+++ b/gst/schedulers/gstoptimalscheduler.c
@@ -470,8 +470,6 @@ merge_chains (GstOptSchedulerChain *chain1, GstOptSchedulerChain *chain2)
   }
   chain2 = unref_chain (chain2);
 
-  g_assert (chain2 == NULL);
-
   return chain1;
 }