diff --git a/render/font.c b/render/font.c
index 2fce1dd4..922bdb7e 100644
--- a/render/font.c
+++ b/render/font.c
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ static RrFont *openfont(const RrInstance *inst, char *fontstring)
     out->tint = tint;
 
     font = XftFontOpenPattern(RrDisplay(inst), match);
-    FcPatternDestroy(match);
     if (!font) {
         g_free(out);
         return NULL;