diff --git a/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/scoreboard/CraftTeam.java b/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/scoreboard/CraftTeam.java
index dbfbb9570..553ccbe9a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/scoreboard/CraftTeam.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/scoreboard/CraftTeam.java
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ final class CraftTeam extends CraftScoreboardComponent implements Team {
 
     @Override
     public void setColor(ChatColor color) {
-        Preconditions.checkArgument(color != null, "Color cannot be null");
+        Preconditions.checkArgument(color != null && !color.isFormat(), "Color cannot be null or a format");
         checkState();
 
         team.setColor(CraftChatMessage.getColor(color));