diff --git a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultyIcon.cs b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultyIcon.cs
index 1aff764ede..8259da9492 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultyIcon.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Drawables/DifficultyIcon.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // Copyright (c) 2007-2017 ppy Pty Ltd <contact@ppy.sh>.
 // Licensed under the MIT Licence - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ppy/osu/master/LICENCE
 
+using System;
 using osu.Framework.Allocation;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics;
 using osu.Game.Graphics;
@@ -15,6 +16,9 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Drawables
 
         public DifficultyIcon(BeatmapInfo beatmap) : base(beatmap)
         {
+            if (beatmap == null)
+                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(beatmap));
+
             this.beatmap = beatmap;
             Size = new Vector2(20);
         }